The Perfect Love Story
by catdaintree
Summary: Casey dropped her head down on her desk and muffled a screech. What were they thinking requiring a high school student to be able to write about love? Derek scoffed, a love story was so easy to write. You just need the right people to fall in love. DASEY
1. Chapter 1

Love…love is….wonderful…hard…beautiful…love….

Casey dropped her head down on her desk and muffled a screech. What were they thinking requiring a high school student to be able to write about _love_? Casey loved love. She lived love, romance, and butterflies. That was her bit. But had she ever _been_ in love?

No.

She'd liked Sam, Max had made her melt with kisses, but she hadn't loved them. She'd loved little bits of them, sure, but not them. Truman had been a challenge, someone who hadn't seemed to be worthy of her time, until he was.

But then, the cockiness Casey had initially been so drawn to, had destroyed them. No one, _no one_, stood up Casey on their one month anniversary to go to a hockey game with _Derek_ and lived to tell the tale.

Ok, so she hadn't _killed_ him. But their relationship was over. Funny thing was, she hadn't been mad a Derek. Stupid, stupid Derek who had probably known about the anniversary even though Casey had very, _very_ carefully made sure not to tell anyone _but_ Truman about her plans.

"Casey?" Derek poked his head in the door. "Are you still trying to write that stupid essay?"

"It's a story," Casey snapped, spinning around in her computer chair. Her heart was fluttering nervously, but she just ignored it. It was probably just nerves about finishing her story on time.

Derek's face lit up. "A story?" he asked. "By Casey McDonald. Now this I gotta read." He sprang towards the computer and scanned the sparse sentences on Casey's screen. Casey's heart fluttered again. Would he notice how similar Derek was to the hero of the story, Oliver?

Derek's eyebrows came together above his eyes as he stared at the screen. "Geez Casey," he muttered. "For someone who claims to be all about romance you certainly suck at writing love stories."

Casey gasped. He was insulting her story? As if he could write anything better. "No one asked you," she snapped. "It's not like you could do any better."

"Sure I could," Derek sapped back. "Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl to another guy. Girl doesn't realize boy loves her until key moment in time when she realizes that they're perfect for each other."

Casey rolled her eyes, though a little amazed by Derek's knowledge of chick lit; she couldn't help but hear the sarcasm in his voice. "Yeah cause its that simple," she muttered as she pushed him out of the way with her shoulder. It brushed his stomach and she couldn't help but feel a little flip in her own stomach as she noted how firm it was.

"Yes," Derek replied resting lightly on Casey's armrest, his side pressing into hers. "It is that simple."

"Prove it," she replied. Derek leaned in closely; Casey could smell mouthwash on his breath.

"Care to make it a little more interesting McDonald?"

Casey squirmed in her seat, trying to ignore how close they were. "Yes."

Derek smirked. "Ok these are the rules. I prove to you that its simple to write a story solely based on life experience and have your story done in time for the due date."

"If you win?" Casey demanded.

"I get to ask one thing of you and you can't say no," Derek replied. A smile on his face.

"I get one pass," Casey injected. Derek sighed and rolled his eyes. He leaned down and pressed his forehead into hers. Casey's breath caught in her throat as her stomach burst into nervous flutters. Already she could feel her fingers itching to start typing.

"Ok miss Priss," Derek agreed. "_One_. And you have to write this story. No backing out."

"It's a grade Derek," Casey huffed, despite his closeness, feeling a little frustrated with him. "Of course I'm going to do my work."

Derek grinned. "I should have known that." He start to get up, Casey grabbed his arm and yanked him down, her eyes barely an inch from his.

"And if I win Venturi?" she demanded. "If you can't prove to me that from the shambles of my ex-love life I can pull a story, and then what do I get?"

Derek smiled. "The same as me," he replied. "One demand, any demand."

Casey chuckled. "There is no way your going to win this thing," she said. "My love life sucks so much I couldn't even write a one page story on a kiss."

Derek smiled. "Remember its previous and current experiences going into this story."

"Current?" Casey scoffed. "Oh that's a good one. Just rub in how single I am. That'll make me want to write a love story."

"Just clear your schedule tomorrow night," Derek replied.

Casey stared at him. "Why?"

"Because you have a date." Casey's heart did a weird pitter patter and she blinked twice to make sure she wasn't just imagining it. But when she opened her eyes the second time Derek was still there, still smirking at her. She wondered vaguely if this was all just going to end up being a cruel joke.

"What are you talking about Derek?" she snapped. Derek sat up, looking a little flushed (though that could have just been her imagination) and winked at Casey.

"Just call me Oliver," he said with a smirk. "And I'll call you Rose." Casey's face flushed read, her characters names. That's what he was up to.

"What…"

"Be ready at seven tomorrow night," Derek interrupted, standing and heading towards the door. He paused and glanced at Casey over his shoulder. "And don't tell anyone Case."

()()()()

**I know its short, do you like?**


	2. Chapter 2

"_Don't tell anyone_."

Casey drummed her fingers against her desk watching the snow fall outside her bedroom window. They'd had snow, and lots of it in Toronto, but there was something about the snow in London. It fell in huge flakes, huge romantic flakes. The kind that made you want to snuggle up to someone under a street light or lights display and kiss like it was their last moments on earth.

She quickly jotted that down. Maybe it was just her who thought it was romantic. Everyone else she'd talked to had hated snow. She didn't like being wet or extremely cold but she was drawn to the snow. Imagine having a date in the winter in a snowfall.

Just like she now had to imagine having a date with Derek.

Her stomach burst into butterflies. Huge things that were desperate to leave her stomach. If she'd wanted to stand she wouldn't have been able to her knees were still jelly from Derek.

The complete story wasn't due until the Wednesday before they were let off for break. The dance, the first winter semi-formal the school had ever held was in two weeks.

Oh shut up.

There was no way she was going to get Derek to go to that stupid thing. She'd barely convinced herself to go until she'd seen the dress and immediately she'd known she was going date or no date.

Derek asking her to the dance would be the thing out of movies, or teen romance lit that Casey was secretly addicted to. Lately though, her books had been going missing. She didn't know where they were but she missed them.

"Caaaaaaaasey." Edwin swung into her bedroom and dispite how much Casey relished the interruption from her own thoughts she glared at him.

"Knock much Edwin," she snapped as he flopped onto his bed. "One day you're going to just walk in on something that you really don't…"

"I need help Casey," Edwin interrupted. Casey's heart leapt, she loved helping out her siblings, it gave her a sort of maternal feeling that she relished. She wheeled her chair to her bed and placed a hand on his arm.

"I'm here Edwin," she said. "What is it?"

"Its Derek," Edwin muttered covering his face with his hand. "He gave me advice and it actually sounded like _good_ advice and so I'm here to see if it is or not."

"Oh." Casey's heart sunk a little. So he just wanted advice on advice. "Well what did he say?"

Edwin peeked out at Casey through his fingers, the tips of his ears bright red. "It was about a girl," he said weakly.

Casey leaned in, suddenly intrigued. She knew Edwin had crushes but usually he gave up before they came to be anything. "Who's the girl?"

Edwin sat up quickly. "That's not important," he said sharply. "I just need to know if what Derek said is good."

"Ok Ed," Casey held her hands up in defense, "chill. What did Derek say?"

"Well the girl I like is kind of a tough girl and," Edwin looked away, his face a brilliant shade of red, "and Derek said that I should fight her."

"Fight her?" Casey asked slowly. "As in beat her up because honestly Ed I think that might be the worst advice that Derek's…."

"No, no, not _fight_ her," Edwin said quickly. "I think he meant like don't give into her. Fight her because she's probably used to having people give into her. That will get attention."

Casey giggled that sounded exactly like what Derek did with her. How stupid was that? How was he expecting to…

Oh. My. God.

"That's great advice Ed," she said as she pulled the still smaller boy off her bed. "Now get out, I have to go somewhere."

"Oh, where?" Edwin asked. "Derek said that you'd be home all day."

"Derek was wrong." Casey nearly shouted it. Edwin stumbled quickly from her room. Casey slammed the door behind him before collapsing on her bed. Her heart was racing and she felt like someone had light a fire on her skin. What was _wrong_ with her? Derek did _not_ like her.

He was just taking her out on a bet.

Casey groaned and pulled a pillow over her head. She had to get out of the house. But where? Emily was out of town, the only girl on the street left was…Hannah Carlson. She'd moved in three weeks ago, went to the catholic high school nearby and was probably the most desirable girl in the world.

Casey didn't want to resort to her but Hannah was smart, and had spent enough time watching Derek make a fool of himself around her to know what he was like. Casey groaned and rolled over to grab her cell from the bedside table.

----

Casey knocked on the Carlson's door, her stomach fluttering. Hannah had actually sounded happy to hear from her and delighted that Casey wanted to come over even though Hannah's boyfriend, Jason, was currently over.

Casey didn't want to have to watch the two make out like she did whenever she hung out with Emily and her boyfriend but she really didn't want to be in the same house as Derek until she figured out what was going on.

Hannah flung the door open and once again Casey had to remind herself that Hannah was real. "Casey," Hannah squealed. "Come in, come in."

Casey smiled weakly and stepped in. Hannah's house was so different from her own. It seemed like nothing was planned before they decorated the house. The walls were bright colors and the furniture barely matched. But it was so _homey_, Casey loved it.

A tall, gangly boy with dark hair and huge dark eyes almost glowered at her from the couch across the room.

"That's Jason," Hannah said, almost as if introducing a pet. "But he doesn't really need an introduction since he was just leaving."

"We have to wait for my mother to get her first darling," Jason called over. Casey stood barely in the house, shocked by the various realizations that had been made in such a short time period.

First Hannah, beautiful, blonde, smart, green eyed, Hannah was dating someone who looked like he spent most of his nights playing Xbox. Casey had always pictured Hannah with some jock, with huge biceps and a models face. Second Hannah and her boyfriend were treating each other like dirt. The guy who looked like he should be worshipping the ground Hannah walked on was treating her like just a random girl and sweet little Hannah was being mean right back to him.

Casey wished she was at home as she sunk into a kitchen chair and watched the argument start.

"Well hopefully she hurries up," Hannah muttered as she sunk down on the couch beside Jason. "Oh Casey make yourself at home and just ignore us please. We're always like this."

The sex must be great, Casey thought grimly as she stood up to check the fridge for a drink. Then clapped a hand over her mouth, that wasn't her talking, that was the evil little person Derek had created inside of her who's mind was always in the gutter. When she turned back to Hannah and Jason they'd moved onto name calling.

Joy, she thought, I'm in a room with five year olds with bad language.

"Bitch," Hannah snapped.

"Whore," Jason replied. Casey watched them intently. Their faces were barely inches apart and she could see their eyes were glowing. They were in love, she realized sadly. Even those freaks were in love.

"Only with you darling," Hannah replied with a wink. Jason scrunched up his nose but couldn't help but smile a little.

Casey wanted that so badly. She wanted to be able to fight with someone until they were both smiling. Her cell phone buzzed and she picked it up just as Jason kissed Hannah.

"_Where the __hell__ are you_?" Derek's voice growled in her ear before she could even say hello.

"Hannah's," Casey replied. Hannah was pretending to pull away from Jason. Casey was slightly nauseated. Maybe Derek had a point about doing the dirty in front of people.

"_Well get your ass home_," Derek replied, "_if you get caught with Hannah and her boyfriend you'll be sorry._"

"How do you know she has a boyfriend?" Casey asked, hoping, desperately, that if she kept the conversation going long enough Jason's mother would arrive.

"_I know everything Casey. He's tall, nerdy and she's totally out of his league correct?_"

"Yeah but how did you know she had a boyfriend?"

"_I matched them up. Jason and I went to elementary school together._"

"_You_ matched them up? Mr. I-Hate-Love?" Casey was shocked beyond words. She was stunned. Derek didn't match up people. Derek broke up people. Derek was not a romantic. There was no way. Because if he was Casey would have to admit, somehow, deep down, Derek was perfect.

"_I don't hate love_. _Love is good, for some people. Hannah and Jason have a lot in common and in some strange way they look good together._"

"Awe, is Derek a romantic?" Casey giggled before she realized what she was doing. She was flirting, _flirting_, with Derek. Her sworn enemy.

"_No Derek's pissed off. Get your ass home. Nora and dad went out. They expect me to look after the brats myself. I'm not looking after the brats myself._"

Casey looked over at Hannah and Jason who were grinning sheepishly at her. She grinned back and rolled her eyes towards her phone.

"I'll be home soon you big baby," she replied.

Derek groaned. "_You're the big baby_ _who left her room unguarded. Oh look, Casey went underwear shopping. Is that a __**thong**_?"

"I'm going home now," Casey snapped. "Get out of my room."

Her face burning she rushed over and grabbed her coat, and shouted apologies over her shoulder to Hannah as she raced over to her house. She burst into the house, her chest heaving.

"Where is he?" she demanded. Edwin simply pointed up the stairs. Casey rushed up the stairs to find Derek sitting on her bed, the phone at his side and a smug grin on his face.

Before she had even thought it through Casey let out a somewhat war cry and launched herself at Derek.

()()()()

**Sorry it took so long for me to update.**

**Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

"Ah Casey," Derek said, a smirk on his face as he tried to pry her fist from his shirt. "I didn't know you cared."

Casey was breathing heavily, her teeth gritted and her eyes boring into his. She wanted him to be afraid, not smug. Afraid! She shook his shirt hard enough that his head shook a little.

"I don't care," she snapped. "I don't. I never have and I never will. I hate you. I will never like. NEVER."

"Jesus, Case," Derek muttered, a smile still on his face. "I was just talking about how you managed not to crush my boys when you attacked me."

Heat raced to Casey's face and she slowly became quite aware of the position they were in. it was very, _very_ similar to the one she'd seen Hannah and Jason in after Jason had called her ugly. Except of course that Jason's tongue had been down Hannah's throat at the time.

It was at the that moment in time that Derek chose to wet his lips, his pink tongue gliding over the time one with ease and Casey's eyes widened.

"No!" She threw herself off of Derek, still breathing hard. No, no, no, no, no! She would not have thoughts like that. Those were not thoughts that Casey had. What was _wrong_ with her? She was acting like a common teenager and Casey McDonald was _not_ a common teenager.

"Jesus Casey," Derek muttered dusting invisible dirt off his shirt. "Are you insane? First you attack me and then you act as if I've caught on fire."

"Get out. Get out. Get out!" Casey nearly screamed. There were emotions going through her she hadn't been aware existed until now. "And leave my underwear alone!"

Derek chuckled at the last bit as he gracefully glided from the room, not a hair out of place. She glowered after him until her door closed behind him and the flopped back onto her bed.

She should have stayed at Hannah's.

At nine Casey was preparing herself for bed when Derek knocked on her door. She opened it, hoping to catch him off guard in a large t-shirt she's stolen from her dad that covered only the necessities and a pair of black cotton undies.

"Yes?"

Her plan had clearly worked; Derek stared at her for a good solid minute. Casey took this time to pick up her dirty clothes, check the pockets and toss them into the laundry hamper. She knew doing this was not like her, and she was probably crossing a line but he'd been so goddamn desperate to see her underwear.

He got her back though. As soft cotton shirt glided across the room and landed on her head Casey could only think one thing: oh shit.

She turned around slowly and each inch provided a better view of Derek's bare chest. His wonderful, where-have-you-been-hiding chest. Casey blinked twice to make sure what she was seeing was real before retaliating.

"And _what_ is this?" she demanded holding up his shirt and trying desperately, oh so desperately to ignore how warm, soft and good-smelling it was. Good-smelling? Was that even proper grammar? Oh god, Derek was turning her into a bimbo.

"You were doing laundry," Derek said with a shrug. "I thought that I'd help."

"Well your not, so why don't you just leave," Casey snapped as she threw his shirt down onto her bed. Careful not throw it on the floor. Very careful.

"Because if you remember I came here for a reason," Derek replied, still staring at her.

"Then just tell me what you want to tell me and…and…get out," Casey snapped feeling very unlike herself and desperately wished he would just leave her with her thoughts.

Not that all her thoughts wouldn't be about him or anything, she just wanted some piece.

"Oh ok then Miss Huffy," Derek replied. "I just wanted to tell you that we'll be leaving at 5:30 tomorrow."

"5:30 for what exactly?" Casey asked, still stunned by his chest. Who would have thought that lankly little Derek was hiding all that under his baggy t-shirts.

"The date Casey?" Derek walked over to her and flicked her forehead. "Have you gone entirely crazy or something?"

"The date…" Casey processed his words for a moment before her cheeks heated up (more). "Oh that date. Of course. Rose and Oliver. Very important."

"Well it is if you want to have a story done in three weeks time," Derek replied. Casey scrunched up her nose at him. She hated it when he made her feel stupid.

"Oh god to hell," she snapped.

"Sometimes I think I'm already there," Derek muttered darkly. Casey rolled her eyes, and he called her the drama queen. He was the dramatic one.

"Ok then," she said with a smile. "Goodnight then Derek." She started pushing him towards the door.

"What?" he said, grinning once more as he turned to face her. "No goodnight kiss?" Casey stopped in her tracks and stared up at him. He stared down at her.

"Well no," Casey said finally. "I don't see the point. You've never wanted one before."

"Says you," he replied with a wink before he headed off to his room, chuckling to himself. Casey glared after him. Mostly because she'd lost the ability to speak. Derek had made her loose that. Derek of all people. No one had ever done that before.

She flung herself onto her bed and covered her face with her hands. Was it only just hours ago that she'd been in the same position because of Derek? Once again she desperately wished she was somewhere else. Somewhere where she couldn't feel his presence or smell him or….why could she smell him still?

She reached underneath her and pulled out his shirt again. Of course, she would never be rid of Derek. Never, ever, ever. She lifted her hand to toss the shirt into the laundry basket when another idea hit her. She slowly pulled the shirt down and pressed her face into it. It smelled just like him. There was no way this shirt was dirty, it was probably fresh out of the drawer.

Casey crawled under her blankets, clicked off her lights and snuggled up, Derek's shirt pressed into her chest, right where she could smell it all night long.

()()()()

**Sorry if some of this is written strangely.**

**I was watching Bridget Jones' Diary while writing this and there's something English accents that makes me write strangely. Review?**


	4. Chapter 4

Casey's alarm rang out at 5:27 the next morning. She felt groggy and disoriented like something in her life was out of place. She could smell Derek but she couldn't see him. If it wasn't 5:27 in the morning she'd suspect him of an evil plan.

"Go away Derek," she muttered and flipped over. There was a lump pressing into her chest, she reached beneath her and pulled out a wrinkled shirt from beneath her.

Oh.

The events of yesterday flashed back to her and she sat up in bed. Tonight she had a date.

With Derek.

A date with Derek. Derek on a date, with her. Having a date with Derek.

No matter what way she put it Casey couldn't deny the butterflies in her stomach. Oh why, why, why were they here? All this unwanted feelings that _he_ had brought to her. What was _wrong _with her? Derek was everything she was against. He was lazy, smelly, rude, and Derek.

Still when she looked down she noticed that Derek's shirt was still clenched to her chest like it was her baby. She tried to throw it down on the bed but for some reason her fingers weren't working. She didn't want to let him go.

It go…it go. She'd meant that. She didn't care about Derek but it was a nice shirt. A very, very nice shirt that he couldn't wear anymore to hide that wonderful body from her. She knew he was insecure, which was why he surrounded himself with other insecure people and gorgeous girls so that people wouldn't notice his flaws but she loved his flaws.

No.

She was nothing but a bet to him. She had to find someone new so that her who story wasn't about the brown eyed boy with a heart of gold and the body of a…  
And she had to stop thinking about his body.

Find a new boy, find a new boy, find a new boy. She chanted the words to herself over and over again as she got ready for school and as she shoved Derek out the down to the car. She continued chanting the words until she got to school where she realized the world had not turned upside down. It was just her.

It was her world that had turned up side down and had been shaken. When she blinked her eyes could almost catch little pieces of glitter like she lived in a snow globe and Derek had picked it up and shook it.

The morning passed achingly slow. Made only more painful by the cheerful reminder that the first rough chapter was due on Wednesday. Casey groaned. She needed a beginning.

Did she want boy and girl hate each other, boy and girl love each other but don't want to admit it, or boy and girl were already in love and continued expressing it?

Oh the decisions. Usually she loved a challenge, especially one that involved actually having to sit down and think it out but when it involved love, even Casey knew that she couldn't control that. Like so wonderfully quoted but Ewan McGregor in _Moulin Rouge_, love is like oxygen. You can't hold oxygen, but without it you'd fall into a dark sleep unable to breathe and never wake up.

Well now she was getting philosophical. Which still didn't get her a storyline.

She slumped onto the bench at lunch table. Emily was across from her. Derek was two tables away, facing her and glaring. She chose to ignore her heart beating faster than a rabbit running in her chest and glared back.

"What did Derek do now?" Emily asked sighing a little like the subject bore her to death when Casey knew there was nothing about Derek that could or would ever bore Emily.

"I'm just returning the glare," she replied with a shrug and a smile to Emily. Emily narrowed her eyes at her.

"Something's up with you," she said slowly as she looked over Casey. "You look nice today, really nice. Usually you just do enough to rub it in your gorgeous but today you're just making us all hate you. What's up with that?"

"I'm just sick of being alone," Casey said with a shrug though as the words left her mouth she realized they were true. "I'm just looking for a new boy."

"Like him?" Emily pointed towards the cafeteria doors. Casey spun around in her seat and stifled a gasp. He was tall, tan, and absolutely gorgeous. As he walked Casey was sure she could hear a chorus of angels singing and see the wind ruffling his curls ever so slightly.

He was dressed nicely; a button down dark green shirt though un-tucked with the sleeves rolled and faded jeans. In one hand he held a brown paper lunch bag and in the other, a copy of _Romeo and Juliet_.

"Is that Shakespeare he's carrying?" Casey asked, a little breathlessly.

"yep." Emily leaned in closely. "And that's grade ten required. He's in our grade. He's in my English class."

"So that means…" Casey was so delighted she couldn't even finish her sentence.

"That means the _Romeo and Juliet_ he's carrying is his own and his totally willful of that."

He glanced over in her direction and smiled. Casey gasped and spun back around. Derek was gone.

"Oh my god Case," Emily nearly squealed, "he's headed over." Casey felt faint.

"Is this seat taken?" Casey cleared her throat and turned to face him. Up close he was even more beautiful. Creamy tan skin, dark curls, high cheekbones, full lips and sparkling grey/blue eyes. He looked like he'd just stepped out of a perfume ad.

"Unfortunately," a deep voice behind her said, "it is. Find another table. I hear that one, two down has a free seat." The God (for lack of a better name) looked disappointed but smiled politely.

"Ok," he said and started to walk away but at the last second turned and grinned at Casey. "I'll see you later, ok?"

She could only nod. She felt a warm body slip into the seat beside her. She turned and nearly screamed when messy brown hair and a baggy, slightly wrinkled t-shirt came into view.

"Der-ek!"

"Cas-ey!" She couldn't be sure but she was certain there was a smug smile on his face. Emily just watched the two of them thoughtfully as if she could see something no one else could.

"Derek what did you just do?" Casey demanded. "Or better yet, why did you just do that?"

He shrugged. "I felt like it." He took a huge bite of his sandwich, a dab of mayonnaise rubbed off on his cheek. Casey's heart flip-flop.

"You can't just go around doing things because you feel like it Derek," she snapped. "If I just went around doing everything I wanted to do, things would go wrong."

"Yeah," Derek said with a chuckle, "everyone's clothing would match."

"Oh look, it Adam." Emily practically threw herself across the cafeteria. Casey could only watch the beginnings of a protest on her lips.

"There is nothing wrong with matching clothing Derek," she muttered, turning back to her carrot sticks and dip. But she couldn't eat; two pairs of eyes, matching in intensity were watching her, burning her skin where they landed. One pair was the new guys and the other's was Derek's.

"What?" she demanded glaring at Derek after sending a flirty grin to the new guy.

"You eat funny," was his reply, his eyes still boring into her. "And you don't look like a troll today. What's going on? Does Casey have a crush?"

"No." For some reason she couldn't help but smile.

"You do," he said, a smug grin on his face that didn't register in his eyes, they were dark and pained looking, "you do have a crush! Who is it?"

"No one," Casey said rolling her eyes, her face burning. "Besides even if I did like someone, why would I tell you?"

"Because then I could inform the school," he replied. She glared over at him but seeing his grin, so boyish and carefree, she found herself smiling back.

"Which is exactly why I will never tell you," she snapped, though in a way that didn't make him flinch but instead made his smile grow larger.

"Just as long as its not that girly boy over there," Derek muttered. Casey glared at him.

"He is not a girly boy," she snapped. "He's very masculine. He has a square jaw and thick eyebrows and…"

"And he reads _Romeo and Juliet_," Derek added. "He's girly."

"No one asked you," Casey snapped. "Why are you even here? Most of the time you're delighted that I have a new boyfriend because it means I won't fight with you over the TV on Saturday night."

"I'm here because I want to be here," Derek replied.

"So I'm to believe that you _want_ to eat lunch with me?" Casey demanded. "That you don't want me dating anyone and that you want to spend time with me."

Derek put down his sandwich with a sigh and turned to her. "Yes, is it so hard to believe that?"

"Yes."

Derek leaned in closely, when Casey didn't push him away, he smirked. "Lover boy doesn't like me being this close to you," he said. Casey rolled her eyes.

"I don't even know him."

"Do you know me?"

Casey rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately."

"Do you trust me?"

Now Casey was suspicious. Derek was acting like he was truly concerned. "I think so," she whispered.

"Then believe me when I say this is for your own good," he said. Casey didn't have time to process what that meant before his warm hand was cupping her cheek and his lips were pressed against hers.


	5. Chapter 5

Instantly Casey's hands flew to Derek's chest, ready to push him away. He seemed to sense this and moved in closer, pressing his lips against hers more firmly, his tongue gently running across her lips.

Electricity shot though her with such a force her flew back, her arms flailing and her cheeks burning. Derek looked shell shocked, his mouth was hanging loosely open and his eyes were half lidded. Casey's heart raced as she realized, it was her that had made him look like that. Not some other girl, but her.

"Derek," she breathed, "why'd you do that?"

Again, for what seemed like the millionth time that day, he shrugged and turned back to his sandwich. "I dunno," he replied, "besides. It was for your own good."

"My own good?" Casey hissed, hurt that he couldn't at least pretend to put some emotion into this. "How was _that_ for my own good?"

"Well the pretty boy over there now thinks we're dating," Derek answered, glancing a little over at her. "And if he thinks were dating he'll stay away from you."

"But what if I don't want him to stay away from me?" Casey demanded. "What if he's the one for me and you've just ruined all my chances by doing something I didn't want you to do in the first place."

Derek turned and glared at her fiercely. Casey could feel his hot breath on her lips, and felt her head slowly move in a little closer. He ignored this. "I kissed you Casey," he said, his voice dark. "Deal with it. My lips touched your lips and it was a kiss. Not a family kiss, a real kiss."

"You still haven't told me why," Casey said, tearing her eyes away from his lips to look up at him, only to find he was looking at her lips.

"I told you," he replied. "It was for your own good. Vincent Michanol is a bad person. He'd hurt you." Casey's heart lifted a little as she heard his voice, so sweet. "And I don't need you lying around the house whining only to hear me say 'I told you so'."

Casey's heart sunk, again. "How do I know that your not just trying to keep me from being happy?" she demanded. "That's the only thing your good at."

"Why can't you just trust me," he snapped. "For once I try and do the right fucking thing and your treating me like I'm the bad guy."

"You _are_ the bad guy," Casey hissed, almost panting with anger. "You've always been the bad guy and you always will be the bad guy."

Derek looked down, his eyes pained. Casey's first reaction was to feel bad, but then she thought of all the terrible things he'd done to her and she turned away too.

"Go," he muttered. "Go and get your little black heart broken. I'll be here, watching you do exactly what I told you would happen."

Casey rolled her eyes. "At least I have a heart," she snapped. Without a single look back at Derek she stood, grabbing her lunch and made her way towards Vincent's table. He smiled warmly when he saw her.

"Your boyfriend let you leave?" he asked. Casey shook her head.

"He's not my boyfriend," she replied, still standing. "Never has been, never will be. May I sit?"

"Of course." Vincent moved over to make room for Casey. "Now, if he is not your boyfriend. Who is?"

Casey blushed. "No one," she replied.

"Then this is definitely my day," Vincent said with a smile and took a bite of salad. "What is your name?"

"Casey," she replied blushing.

"Vincent." He held out a hand, which she took, but instead of shaking it, he flattened it against his and entwined their fingers. Casey felt herself blush even more.

"I'm sorry," he said, though he didn't look it, nor did he let go off her hand. "Its just, its not often you see a girl as pretty as you who will actually want to eat lunch with you."

"Laying it on real thick here," Casey said with a coy grin, though honestly she didn't mind.

"I only speak the truth," he replied. "Now what classes do you have after lunch? Because I have no idea where room 124 is."

Casey stood by the car, the frigid wind biting at her cheeks and getting through her jeans. Derek was late, more than usual at least. She grumbled and blew hot breath onto her freezing fingertips. Kids were still pouring around her, headed towards the buses, Casey was almost tempted to catch the bus, take it home and ignore Derek for the rest of her life.

He'd kissed her, in front of everyone. She'd been pushed, had things thrown at her and had even worse words called down the hallways at her. She just wanted to go home and cry. Was that weakness?

Derek's shuffling feet sounded behind her and she jumped when she realized he was only a foot away. She glared at him, from her position further away. The shock from the kiss hadn't hit her until after lunch. There had been more than just protection in that kiss. It had been like a release of feelings that had built up over the years.

"Did you have fun with Vincent?" he asked darkly.

"I did," she replied primly, opening the car door and slipping inside, trying not to look him directly in the eyes. She wasn't sure why but she had a feeling that if she met his eyes she would break down.

Derek shrugged and slipped into the driver's seat. "You have a good day?" he asked once they were out of the parking lot. Casey's breath caught in her throat. Did he honestly just ask her that, like nothing had happened? Was she overreacting? She didn't think so.

"Why you do it?" she asked quietly. He sighed deeply, like she was asking him to tell her his entire life story. Those she supposed his life story would probably be him doing the same stupid thing over and over again.

"I told you why I did it," he said. "I was hoping it that it would keep you away from Vincent."

Casey scoffed. "Because I'm just another one of those girls who will fall head over heels with you from a single kiss. Unfortunately for you, I'm not like all those other girls."

"You're just a blind as them," Derek muttered. "Vincent is _not _this perfect guy you seem to think he is. He's hurt enough girls in all his other schools that the rumors have reached here."

"Oh like you can preach about hurting girls," Casey snapped. "God you're so hypocritical. From what I've seen Vincent is a true gentleman. He holds the doors open for me, he reads _Romeo and Juliet_ and he listens while I talk and actually answers me with intelligent answers and…"

"He sleeps with girls no one will believe could get him and then dumps them and denies everything," Derek snapped. "And you're going to be just another one of those girls."

Casey didn't really know what to say. She'd heard no such rumor but then again she wasn't really on top of all the gossip. But Vincent, beautiful Vincent. Derek had to be lying.

"Thanks for your concern Derek," she replied as sweetly as she could. "But I can take care of myself."

He didn't say anything, just stared out at the road ahead of them. Finally he responded. "At least this drama will give you something to write about."

Casey grimaced. "Is dinner still on?"

Derek glanced at her, his face dramatically shocked. "You mean you'd still want to have dinner with lowly old me? After meeting the absolute _God_that is Vincent Michanol how could I even compare?"

"Derek," Casey snapped. "Don't be an ass. I need you for my story."

"Why don't you just ask Vincent to take you on a date?" Derek asked. "I mean he could probably do it so much better then I could. I bet he'd get you flowers and listen to you talk and then take you on a romantic walk through the park where you'd sit and watch the snow fall cuddled in each others arms."

"Derek. Stop."

"No. I'm not going to stop," Derek snapped, his face flushed and his hands gripped onto the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. "Vincent is obviously your dream guy so why don't you use him?"

"Why are you getting so worked up over this?" Casey demanded. "I'm just a bet to you anyways. Who cares if I meet someone along the way? I'm just in on this so I can get you to do whatever I want."

"So I'm just a bet to you too then?" Derek asked. "So I'm not really an asshole, your one too."

Casey didn't want to admit it, but he was right. She was using him and much as he was using her. But they'd always done that. What was different now?

"Derek," Casey asked softly, all the fight suddenly drained from her, "is the dinner still on or not?"

"One condition."

"_I_ have to have a condition? I just wanted to know whether or not I should get…"

"Tell me you want to go on a date with me," Derek interrupted his ears a brilliant shade of red.

"What?" Casey blinked a few times. What was going on? It was like living in an alternate universe suddenly.

"Just say it."

She sighed. "Derek, I want to go on a date with you." The second she said it, she gasped. She did want to go on a date with him. And many more. Vincent didn't matter, nothing mattered.

()()()()

**Thank you all for your reviews. I read and love all of them. **

**I know this chapter is completely OOC and crazy but it was written at about 5 different times and at all those times I seemed to have a different outlook on where I wanted this story to go. **

**If you guys have any suggestions I'm happy to hear them.**

**I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season and not getting the crappy weather I am. **


	6. Chapter 6

Nothing mattered except getting everything perfect. The second the car was stopped in the driveway Casey ran to the door. A cold wind followed her and as Derek opened the door behind her a blast of snow danced around her.

"Stupid snow," Derek muttered. Casey looked up and squinted at him, despite the sun setting earlier it was still brighter outside than it was inside.

"You love snow," she said, "I love snow. You're Canadian. Get used to the snow."

"You love snow?" Derek's face brightened. "I had you pegged for a sandy beaches and bikinis type of girl."

Casey, still confused on how fast their argument had ended, smiled weakly. "All the seasons have certain, um, perks to them. Bikinis are the perk of summer." She turned to go upstairs but as she hit the steps she was certain she heard Derek, mutter, "I can't wait for summer."

She blushed bright red, remembering the shocked look on his face when he'd seen her in her underwear. Speaking of which, she rushed over to her underwear drawer and muffled a scream when she saw her favorite pair, her special, lucky, kind of sexy pair of underwear was gone.

"Der-ek!" She rushed into his room, her face burning. "Where is my underwear?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. "Your…underwear?"

"Yes, my lucky underwear," she snapped, "they were in my drawer and now they're…tucked under your mattress." There, at the foot of his bed was a piece of turquoise lace. She rushed over and pulled them out. "Why do you have my underwear?" she demanded.

It was his turn to blush. "I know they're your favorite," he replied with a shrug as he reached under his mattress and pulled out the matching bra. Casey gasped. "I figured they had to mean something to you. What I didn't realize was that they were your 'get lucky' underwear."

"They are not!" Casey snapped grabbing for her bra. "I just…liked the color."

"Right," Derek replied, holding the bra out of Casey's reach. "It has nothing to do with the fact that they're sexy enough to turn almost any guy on."

"Well I never thought you'd be seeing them," Casey replied angrily. How was he so calm just holding her bra like it was a sock? "They're my lucky underwear. I wear them when I need a little boost of confidence."

"Like you need more confidence," Derek muttered as he stared at the bra. Then suddenly he seemed so realize something and a smirk spread across his face. "You were going to wear them tonight weren't you?"

Casey opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to think of something smart to say to get her out of this situation but she found herself speechless. She couldn't believe that she'd been stupid enough to let him onto that little fact. He was never going to let it go.

"You were going to wear your sexy underwear for me." Derek was practically singing it now. He looked overjoyed. Casey wasn't about to tell him she'd planned to wear them after dinner tonight and wear them tomorrow for a little boost with Vincent.

"No," she snapped. "I was just…looking for them. A bunch of my stuff has gone missing."

Derek went suddenly somber. "Stuff like what?"

"Like my books," she replied. "The ones you always make fun of me for reading. I can't find a bunch of them."

"I don't know where they are." Derek shoved the bra into her hands and then pushed her out of his room. Casey was confused. What was with the sudden mood swing? Did he know something about her books? Usually he'd tell her if he was up to something.

"Hey Casey," Edwin said as he passed her coming out from Lizzie's room. A satisfied smile on his face while Lizzie glowered at him from her door.

"Hey Ed…" Casey looked back and forth between her sister and step-brother. "What's going on? How's it going with that girl?"

Edwin went bright red and glanced back at Lizzie nervously. "It's going good," he muttered. "I think."

Lizzie was beaming. "Edwin has a crush?" she asked slyly. "On who?"

"No one," he snapped and bolted. Casey and Lizzie exchanged a confused glance.

"Why are you carrying your underwear?" Lizzie asked finally.

"No reason," Casey replied quickly and walked into her room quickly, leaving Lizzie alone and even more confused.

Once alone with her thoughts Casey realized a breath see hadn't been aware she'd been holding. Her nerves felt like they were on fire, her stomach was clenching and unclenching like she'd just run a marathon. She stared at the flimsy pieces of lingerie in her hands, was this really all it took?

These little pieces of cloth…

She slowly slipped off her school clothes, and then slowly out of her underwear. She pulled on the underwear and then stood in front of the mirror. Amble breast support made her usually smallish breasts seem larger and the boy short lace underwear looked, well nice. She giggled like a school girl as the thought of Derek's face if he saw her in these passed briefly through her mind.

Then another thought ran through her mind. Find another boy.

That was her new mission. Once her stupid story was in and this stupid bet was over she planned to never think about Derek. She pulled her overly large shirt over her underwear and flopped down on the bed. Rose was so sure of herself. How was Casey supposed to be Rose?

At exactly five-thirty a sharp rap resounded at Casey's door. There stood, Derek in a dark blue dress shirt and jeans. Next to him Casey felt invisible. She's curled her hair just like Rose and she was wearing a slightly 'prudish', knee length black skirt and a baby blue scoop neck cashmere sweater.

"How do you know Oliver would wear something like that?" she asked. Derek shrugged.

"I winged it." He glanced around the hallway before shoving her jacket in her hands. "The less they see of us, the fewer questions."

"Do they even know we're going out?"

"It's a date Casey," Derek replied quickly. "We're not _dating_." Casey rolled her eyes, though her heart skipped a beat at the idea.

"I meant going out tonight," she replied. Then by some uncertain force stood on her tip toes and brushed a few strands of hair away from his eyes. His hand shot up and caught her wrist.

The sudden action made Casey fall forward a couple inches and she found herself standing so close to Derek she could feel his body heat sinking in her body and she could smell his aftershave. His face was just inches from hers, his lips so close she could almost taste them. Her eyes fluttered up to meet his in what should have been an awkward stare down but instead made Casey want him more.

His hand gently slid up from her wrist to rest on top of hers as he brought it down against his cheek. His breathing was getting slightly ragged and louder. It took Casey a few moments to realize she was reacting the same way. She could feel his soft skin under her hand and felt his other hand just barely brushing her skirt.

His lips were suddenly right in front of hers, his eyes stared into hers asking her to make the final decision. This wasn't like this afternoon when everything was hurried and embarrassing. Casey _wanted_ this. His hand was brushing her thigh, ever so gently and the other slid up and down her arm, his thumb dragging ever so slowly up and down the inside of her arm.

Dizzily Casey realized she was surprised at how sensitive the skin was there. Trust Derek to know that. Her stomach was clenching and unclenching dangerously. There were so many consequences to either choice. It was like knocking on a stranger's door; she could knock and face the danger or walk away.

Not allowing herself to ponder her choices any longer she leaned up and pressed her lips to his, briefly in a peck. The second afterwards Casey knew that Derek wasn't going to allow her to walk away. He wrapped one arm firmly around her waist as his lips pressed into hers. Desperately he kissed her like a drowning man gasping for air. He danced them into her room, closing the door firmly behind them.

Casey couldn't think as he gently pressed her onto her bed. His hands were everywhere. His lips burned against hers with a fire she'd never felt before. As his hand teased her at the edge of her sweater she could hear voices.

"Derek," she gasped. "Derek, someone's…"

She looked over at the door to see the handle slowly being turned.

**Sorry its so late. I hope you like :)  
Please keep up with the reviews**


	7. Chapter 7

It was as if time itself had slowed down. Casey desperately pushed Derek off her, feeling dirty and ashamed and very tingly. The door was slowly opening wider. She felt that she was about to throw up.

"Hey," she called desperately. "I'm changing in here!"

The door slammed shut.

"I'm sorry Casey," Edwin called and Casey could hear his footsteps slowly leading away from the door. She glanced down at Derek, disheveled and glowing on her bedroom floor. He was staring at her like she'd just turned a cat into a frog.

"I think we should leave," Casey said weakly. She wasn't sure if she should be terrified by the idea of a car ride alone with Derek or overjoyed.

Derek just nodded; he leapt to his feet and offered Casey a hand. Silently she took it, her stomach churning with unknown feelings. Her whole body felt like she'd been electrocuted. She'd never experienced kisses like that before. Her whole brain felt like mush.

Derek looked equally shell-shocked. He just grinned stupidly as he silently handed her coat and shrugged on his leather one. She slipped her arms into the sleeves.

"Its still snowing," she noted. "Do you think the roads are going to be ok?"

Derek shrugged. "We might need to get a hotel room if it gets really bad," he replied. "Our restaurant's a little ways away."

Casey giggled a little at how even though his voice was bored, he totally would not mind that happening at all. Derek turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you _want_ that to happen Preppy Pants?"

"Shush," Casey commanded as she desperately tried to make her sex hair look presentable. "Oliver isn't dirty minded, he's a kind, gentleman."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Is he a teenage boy?"

"Yes."

"Then he's dirty minded."

"It's my story," Casey replied. "And its fiction. So if I want to make a teenage boy who has a clean mind, I will."

Derek shrugged. "Come on," he muttered. "Your hair looks fine and I think we should have a about what just happened."

Casey froze. She thought Derek was the kind of guy who didn't talk about anything. Oh why had she thought she'd get off easy on this? It wasn't as if good luck followed her around anymore.

"What's to talk about?" she asked as she reapplied lip gloss. "There is nothing at all to…" Derek's hands grabbed her shoulders and spun her around so that they were inches from each other. Casey almost felt as if his lips were magnets. Polar opposite to her but that made the attraction even stronger.

"Casey," Derek said seriously. "We just made out and you, of _all_ people, have nothing to say about it?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she replied, half dazed at how much she wanted him. "Let's just go." Derek pressed his lips together but said nothing; instead he opened the door for her and headed downstairs.

Casey's heart was pounding in her chest. Her fingers felt thick and clumsy as she desperately tried to button up her jacket. Derek's hand brushed hers as they walked down the stairs and she felt her face flame up. She glanced up at him, desperately looking for a sign as to what he was thinking but he turned his face away, his jaw clenched.

She turned, away, crushed, but out of the corner of her eye she saw him clench his hand into a fist. Nora and George were murmuring in low voices in the kitchen and Marti was transfixed on the television. Casey slipped on her knee high leather boots she only wore on really, special occasions and felt her heart flutter again.

"We're leaving," Derek called over his shoulder. He let Casey go first and slammed the door shut behind them. Outside the snow was falling and the air was crisp and cold. The air burned Casey's nose as she breathed in and she could feel the fingers of cold creeping in through her jacket.

"Hurry up _Rose_," Derek muttered. "We need to get moving if we want to make the reservation."

Casey slipped into the car. "We're going somewhere that needs a reservation?" she asked, trying to keep from sounding too excited then realized how stupid that was. It wasn't like going on a regular date where you tried desperately to impress the person. Derek already knew who she was, she just didn't know if it impressed him or not.

She was guessing the latter.

The restaurant was Italian. A beautiful dark haired girl with a flirty smile led them to their table. Casey couldn't help but notice that Derek's eyes lingered on her before turning back to Casey.

She smiled at him from across the table. He'd chosen then perfect restaurant. It was quiet, romantic and was totally like a restaurant she'd read about in one of her favorite books. This was exactly what her book needed. A nice guy (acting or not), a romantic date.

Of course, this was about the time in the story where things started to decline. She shook her head. Nothing like that was going to…

"Casey?" The voice was familiar; Casey looked up at their waiter to see Vincent's beautiful eyes staring down at her.  
Her heart fluttered. So much for things staying balanced, she thought, though as a crooked smile spread across Vincent's face, she couldn't bring herself to care.

"I though you said you didn't have a boyfriend."

"Well she does," Derek snapped. Casey glared at him and grabbed Vincent's arm as he turned to leave.

"Wait," she said quickly. "We're not dating. This is just a really weird research project." Vincent looked at her is a stomach dropping mix of disgust and disbelief.

"A research project?" He almost spit the words at her. "In a romantic restaurant? With your brother?"

"step-brother," Derek muttered. "Can you ask for a different person to serve this table?" Vincent turned and glared at Derek.

"Are you asking me to deny a job?"

"No," Derek replied, his eyes glinting dangerously. "I'm subtly keeping you the hell away from Casey. I'm not going to let you use her like all your other girls."

"Derek! Stop!" Casey couldn't believe it. Derek was sticking up for her. At the totally wrong time but he was honest to God sticking up for her. Now if only he'd shut up for a moment.

"You're right Casey," Derek snapped, standing suddenly, "I should just stop. I'll pick you up in an hour." Casey sat frozen as she watched him walk away, his fists clenched at his sides. She felt like crying until Vincent slipped into Derek's chair.

"Are you ok Casey?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. He looked like a worried puppy. Casey just wanted to cuddle him in her arms.

"It's been a long day," she said. "And it was a project. I have to write a love story. Derek was just helping with the basic setting."

Vincent grinned. "A love story?"

"For my creative writing class," she replied. It seemed so insignificant compared to Vincent.

"And what's it about?" He leaned in closely and took her hand in his.

"Rose and Oliver never got along," Casey said. "But then one day something makes they feel the spark, the passion and the love they feel for one another. They fall head over heels in love." She searched Vincent's face for a reaction. It looked exactly like Derek's when he'd read it.

"That will never happen," Vincent said. "Rose and Oliver can't just fall in love. There have to be obstacles, distractions from their soul mates that extend the story."

"Distractions like what?" Casey hadn't realized it but she was leaning in closely, Vincent and her were barely inches away, talking in whispers and breathing roughly.

"Like a new love interest," Vincent replied. "What if a new boy came into Rose's life and turned it upside down and instead of being with Oliver she ends up with him."

"But she _loves_ Oliver," Casey replied. "She just doesn't know it yet."

"Then Matthew still has a chance to change her mind and show her everything they could be together," Vincent whispered and leaned in so that their lips were so close, she could taste pepperoni on his breath. Nothing like the fresh mint that had been on Derek's breath.

It didn't matter.

She heard a crash and out of the corner of her eye she saw Derek, standing in the entrance way. One hand clutching a rose, the other clenched into a fist. Vincent was slowly moving closer, she could feel his lips brushing hers as Derek spun around and left the restaurant, slamming the door behind him.

While one part of her was overjoyed with the fact a gorgeous boy was kissing her in a romantic restaurant it still felt like someone had just reached into her chest and ripped out her heart.

()()()()()()()()  
**I know, lots of weird stuff. **

**I promise things will calm down in the next chapter.**

**In the mean time, continue with your awesome support! ******


	8. Chapter 8

Casey jerked away from Vincent's lips. Something felt wrong.

"I have to go," she whispered trying not to meet Vincent's eyes. "Derek's my ride home."

"Are you sure?" Vincent's face pleaded for her to stay but Casey nodded.

"My mom wanted me to stick close to Derek. She'd kind of overprotective." She stared at Vincent, waiting to see if he'd believe her blatant lie. His face smooth over and she stared at him. So pretty.

He took her hand with one hand and stroked her cheek with the other. "I'm only going to let you go if you agree to go out with me."

Casey froze. For some reason she honestly hadn't seen that one coming. What was she going to tell Derek?

Screw Derek.

"I'm pretty much free all week," she replied smiling at him. His curls had fallen into his eyes, she longed to brush them away and bury her hands in his hair. It looked so soft and beautiful.

"Wonderful," he brushed a kiss to the back of her hand. "Friday. I'll pick you up."

"Friday." Casey could barely breathe.

"And of course, you'll sit with me tomorrow at lunch?" Casey nodded. He could have just asked her to murder his family and she would have agreed. His eyes just pleaded to her in a way that made her knees melt.

"Good," he said looking almost smug but Casey barely noticed. All she could pay attention to was his thumb brushing lightly over her hand.

"I-I have to go," she whispered, gently, hesitantly, pulling her hand out from under his. "I'm sorry." She threw a twenty on the table and started to turn when she felt it being pressed back into her hand.

"Derek already paid," Vincent whispered before turning and disappearing into kitchen. Casey walked slowly out of the restaurant. Her head spinning. Derek had paid? For everything?

That was so unlike him. He'd actually worked to make this night special. And she ruined it. A park, a couple blocks down looked absolutely gorgeous in the snow. She headed that way, for some reason she knew she'd find Derek there.

And she was right. There, kicking a park bench and swearing loudly, was Derek. He looked up when he realized she was standing a few feet away but ignored her and threw himself down on the park bench.

"Derek, I'm sorry," she whispered. He glared at her.

"Really?" he snapped. "It sure didn't look that way when Vincent's tongue was down your throat."

Casey ignored the urge to kick him. "Derek, I mean it," she replied. "I'm sorry." She hung her head and shoved her hands into her pockets. Derek leapt to his feet.

"Don't apologize," he spit. "I'm _way_ sorrier that tonight happened than you will _ever_ be."

Casey sighed and sat down on the park bench, she motioned for Derek to sit down again beside her but he shook his head. She sighed again, at least he hadn't left. Hours seemed to pass but when Casey checked her phone, she realized it had just been two minutes.

"Derek," she asked finally, "why'd you have a rose?"

He stared at her like she'd just asked where babies come from. "You're joking, right?"

She shook her head. "No."  
"Then I'm not telling you," he replied, his voice cold and child-like. Casey stood and faced him, trying desperately to ignore the tug.

"Derek, I said I was sorry," she said. "I just want to know. You're acting like I've done something wrong but I haven't."

"No," he said slowly. "I suppose you haven't. Ok. Let's go home." He turned and started to walk away. As he reached a lamp post, he turned back and looked at Casey who was still frozen in place. "Are you coming?"

She raced over to him, where he stood, bathed in a halo of light. "Derek," she demanded, "why did you have that rose?" He still just stared at her.

"You have snowflakes on your eyelashes," he replied. Casey wanted to scream in frustration. She wanted to know. Was this all just a huge plot to utterly irritate her to death?

"Derek," she grabbed his biceps and shook him. "Tell me."

He stared at her and reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a slightly mangled rose. It was the most beautiful thing Casey had ever seen.

"I was going to get pink," he muttered, "since you're so girly but the guy there told me I had to get red."

"Derek," Casey breathed as he shoved it into her hand. "That's something Oliver would do."

He visibly flinched. "Yeah," he muttered, "right, Oliver would do that. That's why I did it. Now can we go home?"

"no." Casey ran around him and blocked his path back towards the car. "We're not leaving until you tell me the _real_ reason."

I just did," he snapped. "That was the real reason. Just helping with the story."

"This isn't about the story anymore Derek," Casey shouted. "This about you being a freak and not telling me what you're really thinking."

"I don't have to tell you anything," he snapped, trying to sidestep around her but Casey was faster and blocked him, keeping him trapped in their halo of light.

"Yes," she nearly growled, "you do."

"Why do you even care?" he yelled, shocking Casey into momentary silence, "you have your precious _Vincent_, why do you care whether or not I got you a friggen rose?"

"Why do you?" she shouted back as she shoved him. "Why do you even care? Why are you doing this to me?"

They stood, facing each other, breathing heavily as snow fell silently around them.

"I'm not doing anything," Derek snapped.

Casey shoved him again. "Asshole."

He shoved her, she stumbled backwards, slightly shocked, Derek followed her stumbling steps. Certain he was going to push her again; Casey braced herself placing her feet wide and her hands on her hips.

"Why'd you shove me?" she demanded. "No wait, how dare you…"

Derek wrapped a hand around her head, placing a head on the back of her head and dragged her face up to meet his. The other went around her waist, pulling her into him. Casey whimpered softly as his lips mashed onto hers.

She clung to him, certain that if she let go, her knees would give out. She kissed him back with all she had. The rose, the little thing that had caused all that, discarded in a small heap of snow.

Derek pulled away and stared at her. "That's why Casey."

Casey didn't know what to say, she knew whatever she said she'd regret later. Instead of talking she looked up at him and hesitantly brought her lips to his again.

Casey woke up with a jolt, her head ached and her mouth felt like it was lined with slime. Her laptop glowed in front of her, a full first two chapters sitting beautifully in front of her, finished.

Her bedside clock flashed 3:04. She groaned and rubbed her temples. She needed a hot shower and then she needed to sleep for the last two and a half hours she had before six came around.

The hot water, pooled around her feet gently. It eased away the tension in her shoulders and the aching in her head. Without opening her eyes she grabbed her body wash and snapped the cap open. Instead of papaya passion she smelled Derek. Her eyes flew open, expecting to see Derek but instead she found herself alone in the shower, with Derek's body wash in hand. Quickly she shut the cap and grabbed her own.

She didn't stall in the shower for any longer. She raced back to her room, a towel wrapped around her head and body. She grabbed the first shirt she saw, pulled the towel off her head and pulled it on. Soft cotton brushed against her bare skin.

She looked down and saw Derek's shirt. She groaned as her stomach flipped. No matter where she went Casey couldn't avoid Derek.

Instead of searching for something else to throw on she accepted how perfect Derek's clothing felt on her and reached for her hair brush instead.

She fell into bed, surrounded by Derek. And while that should have made her toss and turn, it made her fall into a peaceful sleep, a small smile on her lips and her hands clutching onto Derek's warm shirt like it was a life preserver.


	9. Chapter 9

The screeching sound of rock music met Casey's ears, jolting her awake. She felt awful, her eyes pounded and felt gritty, her back ached and she just wanted to curl up under her blankets and die. The world was still dark outside, though she could hear tiny clinks against her window and feel a draft coming through the old window. She shivered under her thick blanket; the world was too dark and cold for her right now.

Then she realized she wasn't wearing her pajamas, but a large, comfy shirt that smelled exactly like Derek.

She sat up, in bed, her heart racing.

No.

What had happened last night? It was all a blur; she remembered a skirt, a rose and Vincent's soft lips. But that dream? Had it been a dream or was the blurred memory of Derek's soft lips a reality?

She had to know.

Silently as possible she slipped out of her room, down the hallway and into Derek's room. The smell of sweaty socks, pizza and Derek's aftershave burned her nose a little but for some reason it didn't repulse her like it should. In fact, it kind of made her want to never leave his room.

Bad thoughts, Casey. Bad thoughts. She shook her head wildly, trying to shake her thoughts out of her mind like a dog tries to shake off water. Halfway through it she noticed something, Derek.

He was on his back, shirtless, the covers askew and his mouth hanging open slightly. His breathing was deep and even but just the sigh of him made Casey's breaths turn into quick shallow ones.

"Derek?" she whispered, afraid of what might happen if she touched him. "Derek, wake up."

He groaned and shifted slightly, the blanket fell off of the leg closest to Casey revealing he was wearing nothing but boxers despite the sub-zero temperatures outside. Casey reached out hesitantly and poked his shoulder, retracting it faster than she had touched him. He shifted again, his entire side was revealed to Casey, from his toes to his eyebrow.

"Oh god," she breathed, poking his shoulder harder this time. "Derek. Get up. Now!"

He groaned and his eyes fluttered for a moment, as he squinted in the dim light. "Casey?"

"Yes," she hissed. "I need to talk to you."

"What time is it?" he demanded sleepily looking around the room. "Why are you in my room again?" His eyes landed on her and widened. "Why are you wearing my shirt?"

Casey's eyes flew open. Shit. "No reason," she hissed. "This is just a dream. Go back to sleep." She turned to flee but Derek's overly warm hand caught her wrist.

"Why would you sleep wearing my shirt?" he asked, still to fatigued to make any true connections. Thank god, thought Casey.

Gently she sat down on the edge of his bed, and reached out to brush his hair from his eyes. "Go back to sleep Derek," she whispered. "You still have another hour to sleep before you make us late for school."

His forehead burned to the touch. She placed her whole hand on it. It felt like it was on fire.

"What?" he demanded. "You're looking at me like I just grew a third eye or something just as disgust…" His voice trailed off, and he looked down at his lap worriedly.

"Oh god," Casey hissed jumping off the bed and dropping her hands from him like he was made of acid. "You're disgusting! Why would you even think like that?"

He shrugged. "I dunno."

"Go back to sleep Derek," she hissed, "You're sick."

"It's a natural thing," he snapped.

"I meant you have a cold, dumbass." She tried to flee but Derek grabbed her hand again.

"Casey…"

"What happened last night?" Casey demanded. "Did we…?"

"Did we what?" Derek demanded. "Did we hook up? No. I don't do that on the first date." He flopped back onto the bed, sniffling loudly.

"Derek…"

"Tell Nora I'm sick, ok?" he said as if she'd never spoken. "I don't feel so hot."

"Well you are," Casey muttered. He looked up at her and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh really?"

"I meant you have a fever," she snapped. "Stop making everything I say dirty." As she walked about of the room Derek called after her. "Don't make it so easy for me."

She raced back to her room. Her heart beating. This was ridiculous. Every time she was near Derek her mind went blank. The questions she came with became pointless. She pulled off his shirt and threw it across the room.

Then, because she was Casey McDonald, she walked over and picked it up and walked it over to the laundry basket. Just as the shirt slipped through her fingers she noticed a corner of turquoise lace peeking out from under a black skirt. Gently she tugged it out, her lucky underwear.

She gasped. She'd worn them last night. Her other hand flew up to her lips. It hadn't been a dream. Derek, a rose, those kisses that had made her melt.

She looked over to her desk, there in the soft moonlight was her rose, shoved carelessly into a drinking glass and looking a little worse for wear but beautiful none the less. She walked over and gently touched the velvety petals; she could still see Derek's eyes as he searched her face when he gave her the rose. Gently she picked it up and walked over to her book shelf. She pulled out the largest novel she could find, it happened to be her favorite one. It had gone missing for awhile but then Casey had found it, shoved under Derek's chair.

She flipped it open to her favorite part, she'd read it so much the spine was cracked in that part and most of the surrounding pages were dog-eared. Gently she placed the rose between her two favorite pages and closed the book. She wasn't sure why she was doing that but she knew the fluttering feeling in her stomach was a good thing.

Getting dressed was a different story, it was freezing outside, and with the added chill that went through her body whenever she thought of Derek's half naked body, so close to her room. He had a mole on his left shoulder, just above his collar bone. She'd never noticed it before and now she wanted nothing more than to see that mole again.

That's how messed up she'd become, all because of some stupid story. The first two chapters sat neatly on her desk, waiting for her to pick them up and proudly show them to her teacher. She wanted him to look over them before she officially handed them in. just to make sure she was doing this project right.

As she pulled her jeans on she looked at the underwear that were hanging on the edge of her laundry basket and her heart did something that she wasn't really sure what to call. It was as if it was tore between falling and jumping.

She had been planning to wear that underwear today, so that she could impress Vincent. And now, now she had a date with him on Friday. And shit, a lunch date with him today.

She wondered if it was a good sign or a bad sign that she was happy Derek wouldn't be at school today.

()()()()()()  
**Not one of my best, I know. But it's exam week for me and I'm not really focused.  
Sympathy reviews? :)**


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey Casey." Nora looked up from the stove. "Oatmeal?" Casey tried not to scrunch up her nose at the idea and smiled sweetly at her mother. How could she eat when her entire life was slowly crumbling at her feet?

"No thanks mom," she replied. "You know Derek's sick right?"

"Yeah," Nora placed a bowl of steaming oatmeal in front of Edwin who immediately reached for the maple syrup. "For once he's actually sick. Everyday I tell him, wear boots. If you wear your runners you're going to get sick. But no, he has to be Mr. Cool and wear his shoes out into sub-zero temperatures."

"We never claim he was the brightest crayon in the box," Casey muttered as she slid onto a stool.

"You do look nice today though honey," Nora said with a sweet smile. Edwin and Casey exchanged a look. What was she getting at?

"Thank you?" Casey said slowly. "What do you want?"

"Why would you think I'd want something?"

"What do you want?" Casey repeated rolling her eyes at Edwin.

"George and I both have meetings today and both Marti and Derek are sick. Do you think you could leave school after lunch to check on them?"

"Leave school?" Casey was shocked. "Leave my place of learning so that I can check up on _Derek_?"

"I'll do it," Edwin piped up. "I don't mind leaving school."

"Please Casey," Nora ignored Edwin. "Marti will be fine until you're lunch is over. You have the early lunch right?"

"Yeah," Casey sighed, knowing it was a losing battle, "I've got third period lunch." Her school was so large that they'd split the school up so that there were two lunches periods, the only downside was that while some people were in lunch, the others were in class and had to deal with the noise.

"Then it's settled," Nora breezed over to the junk drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. "You're going to take the car, I'm assuming. So just go to the office at lunch, say you have a doctor's appointment and drive home. It's not as if it will kill you to miss a day of school. I've seen your grades, they're near perfect." Casey nodded, and then remembered, she had a lunch date.

"I…I gotta see a teacher before I leave," she said. "About a project. I'll leave right after that."

"Ok, hun." Nora handed Casey the note. "Are you sure you don't want oatmeal?"

"No thanks." Casey rose from the stool slowly. "I'm just going to head to school early. You know, since the roads are bad."

Nora positively beamed at her. "That's my girl. Drive safe."

"Yeah mom," Casey pecked her cheek. She raced upstairs to grab her books, and chapters then back downstairs, only pausing to put on her coat and boots before racing out the door, yelling a 'bye' over her shoulder.

It wasn't until she slid onto the literally freezing car seat that she paused to think about exactly why she was rushing. Derek wasn't the reason, she had to head back home to take care of him soon enough. Just the idea of the sexist ideals her mother still held make her grind her teeth.

Of course she was the obvious choice but had she been a boy, her mother would never have asked her to do it.

The steering wheel bit through her gloves sharply and she turned up the heat to full. Despite everything the windows were already fogged up, she grumbled as she fiddled with the knobs under the windshield. She could already tell it was going to be a bad day. It was days like this she seriously considered just fleeing to California.

As engine roared to life Casey jumped and inched slowly out of the garage and driveway. Everywhere the snowplows hadn't touched was covered with at least 7 inches of snow. She was amazed at how much snow they had gotten.  
The roads themselves weren't bad, but Casey's spinning head didn't let her drive very quickly. She was terrified some memory of Derek would just piss her off to no end and she'd press on the break pedal just hard enough to go flying into the ditch.

The school parking lot was barely half full when she got there and she managed to pull into a front row spot. So far, the day was looking up. The car beside her was some huge, scary looking SUV that must burn more gas in a day than the Price did in two weeks.

She scoffed, she may not be some eco-freak (as Derek kindly put it) like Hannah but she wasn't going to purposely destroy the world. She clutched her books to her chest as she shuffled towards the door, trying to keep her head down to avoid any direct stares. Despite the great effort Vincent had put forth, she was sure Derek's little "help you" scheme wasn't going to be soon forgotten.

"Casey!" Two strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist and lifted her off the ground. "I was wondering when I was going to see you again."

Casey squealed a little, much to her embarrassment, as she tried to turn around, desperate to see her strange attacker. "Err, hi."

"I know I just saw you last night but I think I might have missed you." Casey was set down again and whirled around to face a grinning Vincent.

"You missed me?" she asked, a bit confused, a little delighted and a lot flattered.

"I know." Vincent sighed dramatically. "Why would anyone miss a beautiful girl who can make them laugh?"

"You must be sick," Casey replied, a weak attempt to cover how much her stomach was fluttering.

"Love sick maybe," he replied. She felt a stupid smile cross her face. She reached up and placed her hand over his forehead.

"I don't know," she said, smiling. "You're pretty hot." He tilted his head back and laughed.

"Let's go to your locker before I do something I may enjoy now but regret later when we're caught," he said, taking her hand. Casey's stomach fluttered again and Derek's face passed through her mind. She shook her head, trying to shake the image out if that's what it took.

"Let's," she said, when he looked down at her, confused. "We don't want to get into trouble. Yet."

Vincent's eyes twinkled as he stared at her, almost in awe, she suspected. That just made her realize how much better he was going to be for her.

Casey almost skipped as she made her way to lunch. Her teacher loved her work, apparently it was the most original of all the works he'd seen and it showed great potential. Casey felt like she was floating on air, she was showing great potential in her writing, her!

She slid into the seat beside Vincent. "Hey hun."

He turned to her solemnly. "I don't think we should be together."

"What?!?" Casey felt her bubble pop and felt gravity pull her down hard back into reality where her life never really went that well. "Why?"

"Well I got this text." Vincent fished his cell out of his pocket and showed her the text.

_Stay away from Casey. If you break her heart, I __will __break your face._

Casey snatched the cell phone from his hands and stared at the sender. She knew that number, why did she know that…

"Derek!" she breathed. "That conniving little cockroach!"

"So as you can see," Vincent continued. "I think it would be best if we were just not together."

"But why?" Casey demanded. "You don't _plan_ on breaking my heart, do you?" Vincent hesitated for longer than she liked. She slid out from the table. "Then I'm going to go home."

"What?" Vincent grabbed her arm. "No Casey! I only hesitated because I wasn't expecting you to ask that!"

"Obviously," she muttered but she didn't wrench her arm from his grasp. She was curious about the argument he was going to put up. How much did he want her to stay?

"Look Casey," Vincent gently tugged her back down onto the seat, "I probably like you more than I should. I just don't want anything to ruin that. Including Derek."

"He won't," Casey said earnestly. "I won't let him. _We_ won't let him. He's just being stupid; it's just the way he gets when I like someone. He doesn't like it when I'm happy."

"Right." It wasn't exactly an eye roll but it was close enough. "I'm sure he just doesn't want you to be happy."

"It's true," Casey said nodding earnestly. "All he ever does is make me mad. Just a few days ago he stole my lucky underwear and…"

"You think him stealing your underwear is just Derek trying to annoy you?"

"What else would it be?" Casey demanded as she repeated in her mind, don't think about his kisses, don't think about his kisses, don't think about his kisses.

"Nothing." Vincent pulled her face towards his. "As long as that's all it will ever be."

"I promise you," Casey mumbled. "It is." Vincent' lips were almost sweet and very soft but for some reason the usual wonderful electrical feeling she got when she kissed someone she really like wasn't there. It was just like two pairs of flesh moving against hers. She squeezed her eyes closed and tried not to think about kissing Derek. She tried and failed magnificently. The second she thought of Derek, she began kissing Vincent in a way she never thought possible. She gripped the sides of his face desperately as she moved her lips against his. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip and imagined Derek's reaction. It was so wrong, but it felt so right. Vincent pulled away, grinning.

"Wow," he breathed.

"Yeah." Casey wouldn't quite meet his eyes. "Wow." Vincent leaned in again but Casey ducked out of the way. "I gotta go."

"oh." Vincent's obvious disappointment was clear. She pecked him on the lips once more before she practically ran to the office. She didn't let her mind wonder back to what had just happened until she was in the car.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." She punched the steering wheel with each word. What was wrong with her? She was sick! Derek had cast some sort of curse over her and she didn't like it. She'd made her promise to Vincent, what 10 minutes ago? And within the first thirty seconds she'd broken it. She was a terrible person.

And it was all Derek's fault.

She pulled the car out of the parking spot and accelerated out of the parking lot in a way very much unlike her. She had to just confront Derek and find out what all this was about.

That was going to help. Right?

"Derek!" Casey slammed the front door open, her chest heaving and her eyes squinted. "Where the hell are you?"

"Here." Casey glared at Derek who was sitting in his chair, his face placid and unreadable. "Keep it down. Marti's asleep."

"good." Casey threw her coat onto the floor and stormed over to his chair. "Maybe she won't hear you screaming when I kill you."

"So you're dating Vincent?" he asked, his face still unreadable. "After everything I told you about him you're still going to date him?"

"He's a gentleman," she snapped. "He's kind and considerate. His smile makes me smile and best of all, he's nothing like you."

Derek let out a sharp, angry laugh. "Oh Casey," he said. "I beg to differ."

"Well you don't get to differ," she replied. "You don't get to say _anything_ about him let alone _too_ him. What the heck was that?"

"Heck? Really Case? You can't even swear?"

"You threatened my boyfriend!" Casey couldn't believe how he was acting, he was so infuriating. How could he act like he'd done nothing? And how could he be so proud of it?

"To protect you," Derek replied, suddenly very serious. He stood up and once again they were close, too close. "For once I'm not just trying to piss you off Casey. When I said he was no good, I meant it. He's just going to hurt you. I also meant it when I said I would break his face. If he does anything to you, I'll kill him."

"Derek, I'm a big girl. You're just going to have to accept that." Casey's heart fluttered, how did he know exactly what to say? That wasn't the Derek she knew.

"No your not," Derek placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're a tiny, fragile girl who actually needs to be protected." Casey rolled her eyes but still found herself biting her cheek in order to keep herself from smiling. Then she noticed something, a book tucked into the cushions of Derek's chair. She reached around him and picked it up.

There in her hand was one of her favorite books. A modern day fairy tale where the guy was everything you could ever want.

"Doing some light reading?" she asked. He snatched it back and threw it back onto the chair.

"It was just to annoy you," he replied quickly. "I know how protective you are about your books."

"No it wasn't," she replied. "I don't think most of what you do is to just annoy me anymore."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he snapped turning away from Casey. She grabbed his shoulders and spun him back towards her.

"You do," she replied evenly. "And you will tell me why you've been taking all my books."

"_All_ your books," Derek scoffed. "Please Casey, like I want to read your books. I don't care if Claire loves Ben or not."

"Ha! You _have_ read my books."

"So?"

"So why?" He glared at her and she glared back. They had a silent stare down until Derek suddenly blinked and took a deep breath.

"You were writing a love story and I know you. If it's anything less than perfect you don't want it. And so I worked and I _read_ books trying to figure out exactly what the hell it was you wanted from a guy. And I tried to be just like those stupid guys in your books but then he had to show up. Vincent, the guy who'd been kicked out of his last school for doing things that would make you sick and of course he went after you. And all I wanted to do was…"

Casey wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face down towards him. There was a lump in her throat and she didn't really know what to say to him after the kiss would be over but she didn't care.

Derek's arms didn't hesitate to fling themselves around her waist and pull her up against him. Casey sighed happily against his lips, her heart was fluttering, her stomach was flipping and her knees felt weak. That was the way she was supposed to feel when she kissed someone.

"Casey," Derek breathed as they broke apart, gasping for air. "Are you insane?"

"probably." she replied. Derek grinned and gently pushed her down onto the couch.

"Good." He placed his lips over hers again.


	11. Chapter 11

Casey lay, dazed and happy on the couch, pressed up against Derek's warm body. He was dozing, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist and his breath ticking the back of her neck. She had to smile. There was another hour until Edwin and Lizzie got home and from what she could tell Marti was still asleep. Everything was perfect.

The buzzing of her phone in her pocket made her jump and she dug it out of her jeans pocket. Vincent's name flashed on the front screen and her heart sunk. She'd forgotten about him until now.

"Don't check it," Derek muttered, his lips brushing the back of her neck, making her hairs stand up. "He's boring anyways."

"I have to," Casey replied feeling anxious. She didn't like letting any text message go unanswered for longer than necessary. It was like ignoring someone, it was something she couldn't do unless she really, really had to.

"Why?" Derek groaned, pulled her closer, a move she thought would have been impossible. Casey had already flipped open her phone.

_Remember. Friday night. I'll pick you up at 8. Dress nicely_.

"Shit," Casey breathed. Derek snatched the phone from her hands.

"I'll just kindly tell him to fuck off," Derek said cheerfully. Casey grabbed it back. Her heart was torn, she knew she wanted Derek but she couldn't quite bring herself to dump off Vincent like that. Her fingers flew over the keys as she replied, her heart beating.

_Can't Friday. Tonight._

Derek struggled to get up without pushing Casey off the couch. She'd just hurt him.

"What are you doing Derek?" she asked.

"Leaving."

"No." Casey grabbed his arm and stared at him until he stopped tugging and flopped against the back of the couch. "It's not a date Derek."

"Tell Vincent that," Derek muttered, "he's better for you anyway. He'll probably be able to pull off a romantic date without destroying the roses."

"Hey!" Casey leaned in and stared into his eyes. "Your rose was absolutely perfect."

"I destroyed it," he snapped.

"You made it unique," Casey replied, stroking his cheek gently like she was comforting a small child. "I love it more than anything Vincent could _ever_ give me. I'm only going out with him tonight to tell him that I can't date him."

"Vincent doesn't work like that."

"Well I do," Casey replied. "And if he doesn't like it he can kiss my ass."

"I don't want you to go," Derek said pressing his lips together nervously. "I don't trust him."

"Well I can handle myself. Its no problem for me," she stated. "I'm not afraid of Vincent." Her phone buzzed.

_I'll pick you up at 6_.

"Well I guess its official," Derek muttered. "You've got a date with Vincent."

"Not until six," Casey replied. "Until then," she slid closer to him, "I'm all yours."

"I like those odds." Derek grinned until their lips met and the rest of the world disappeared around them.

()()()()()()()

"No skirts."

Casey rolled her eyes and held up a pleated black skirt to herself. "He said dress nice. Skirts are nice."

"No skirts," Derek replied from his position on her bed where he'd decided to dictate everything she wore.

"Why no skirts?" Casey demanded facing him, her hands on her hips. She didn't own nice pants, it was a skirt or a pair of jeans and she wasn't about to wear jeans when she was told to dress nice.

"Easy access," Derek replied with a shrug. "I'm favouring those sweats in the bottom drawer. Nice and baggy but we could cinch the waist so it's too tight for him to do anything."

"He's not going to do anything," Casey replied. "I'm going to kindly tell him that I don't want to date him. Not to hook up with him."

"Well I'd do it before dinner if I were you then," Derek replied flopping back onto the pile of clothes lying behind him.

"No! That's just rude," Casey snapped. "Why would I do that?"

"So it's not like you own him anything," Derek replied. "If you let him take you to a nice dinner he might play that card."

"How would you know?" Casey demanded, her heart sinking. This date was looking more and more like a bad idea. Maybe she should just cancel.

Derek sat up. "Hello? Sleazy guy right here, Remember?"

"Derek you're not sleazy," Casey replied as she stared at all of her ugly clothing.

"Did you not tell me once I was nothing more than a skirt chasing cad?"

"But that was…"

"Casey I know how this guy's mind works. If you don't want to do the dirty with him then you'd better just not go."

"Do the dirty?" Casey rolled her eyes. "Honestly Derek couldn't you use some different terminology?" Despite her cool demeanour her stomach was churning uneasily. Derek sounded so sure of himself.

"Casey I don't want you to go." Derek stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Isn't that enough?" It was, it really was. And it killed Casey to turn around shaking her head.

"Derek," she whispered. "What if whatever we are doesn't work? Are you willing to lose the respect of our family and friends in order to pursue this?"

"Yes," Derek replied, his eyes cold and hard. "And I'm sorry that I thought you felt the same way."

"Derek, why are you so sure we could be anything?" He stared at her as if she was just sitting and drooling at him. She felt like crying. It wasn't until Derek was brushing his thumbs across her cheeks that she realized she was.

"I don't know Casey," he replied, his eyes wide and honest. "I don't know anything but for the first time in my life I'm willing to take a chance and find out. For you I'm willing to lose my friends and my family. But if you're not willing then I'm giving up now."

"Could you hand me my phone?" Casey asked weakly. Derek nodded and picked her cell phone up off the bed and pressed it into her hand.

"Why?"

"I have a date to cancel," she replied, smiling shakily. Derek's face broke out into a huge smile. Her fingers were shaking so much that she couldn't press the keys. Derek took the phone back.

"May I?"

"Just tell him something more important came up. Something _way_ more important," Casey replied. Derek's thumbs flew over the keys. Seconds later he snapped the phone shut and flung it onto the bed.

"Something more important eh?" he asked leaning in closely.

"Way more important," Casey replied slowly snaking her arms around his neck. "So important in fact I think I'm going to be _way_ to busy to spend any time at all with him."

"Such a shame," Derek muttered.

"It really is." Casey smiled into their kiss, soft and gently since the entire family was home. That should have felt wrong but instead it felt so right, so very, very right. Derek felt so right.

()()()()()()

**Billions of excuses as to why it's taken me to long to update. My best one is that my laptop died. Note to self: don't let your brother borrow your laptop anymore.  
Please review.**


	12. Chapter 12

"Casey," Nora perked up from where she was doing bills at the dining room table. "I thought you had a date. Why aren't you all dolled up?"

Casey couldn't help but smile when Derek did. "Something more important came up," she replied. "It wasn't going to work out between him and me anyways."

"But you were head over heels about this boy just yesterday," Nora replied, his forehead scrunched in confusion. "What did he do to make you change your mind so suddenly?"

Casey and Derek exchanged a look. Derek refused to tell her what Vincent's little reputation was about. For her own protection of course. "He just wasn't the one," Casey replied with a shrug as she slunk down onto the couch.

"The one?" George came out of the kitchen holding a can of pop. Casey eyed his outfit, his jeans looked about 20 years old and his sweater had a hole in it. "What are you talking _the one_? You're seventeen for god's sake. You don't have to worry about finding the one for years."

Casey looked up at George. "I'm not worried about finding the one George. I just knew Vincent wasn't the one."

"Girls," George muttered. Casey eyed Derek trying to pinpoint what was going through his mind at that moment but came up blank. He was sitting in his chair, his jaw locked and his eyes blazing.

"Derek?" Casey's heart jumped at how angry he looked. "Are you alright?"

"Go upstairs Casey," he whispered. Casey wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want George to hear or if he was just that angry that whispering was the only way to keep his voice from wavering. His grip on the arms of the chair was so tight his knuckles were white.

"What is it Derek?" Casey leaned to see out the window when a knock sounded at the door. Derek leapt to his feet, ready to attack whoever was waiting on the other side but George got there faster. There, on the other side of the door was Vincent looking angry.

"Vincent?" Casey stood up, feeling a little self conscience in her baggy sweatshirt and old jeans, despite herself. "What are you doing here? I thought I texted you that I had to do something tonight."

"You did," he replied through gritted teeth. "But I'm here anyways. We need to talk Casey."

Casey looked around the room. Edwin and Lizzie were peeking down from the top of the staircase, Nora's eyes were wide and concerned from the dining room table and George just looked confused, his eyes darting back and forth between Derek and Vincent as if he wasn't sure which one to focus on.

"Um." Casey took a few steps towards the door. "Outside. We'll talk outside."

"I'm coming," Derek replied grabbing her wrist quickly. "You're not going out there alone."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Nora called from her place in the room.

"It's fine Nora," Derek replied. "Everything will be just fine soon." Casey found her jacket being shoved into her hands as she slipped her feet into her winter boots. Derek stood in front of her as they walked outside, so close that they were always touching.

"Vincent," Derek voice was sharp and angry, "I thought I told you not to come here."

"I don't listen to anyone when it comes to stuff like that," Vincent snapped. "Casey told me to come. Now I'm here."

"But I told you not to come," Casey cried from over Derek's shoulder. "I said that I had to do something."

"Oh yeah," Vincent sneered. "Because it _so_ looked like you were doing something sitting on the couch in your ratty old clothes looking like shit."

Casey gasped the stung. Why was he attacking her like this? It wasn't as if he'd had time to fall in love with her.

"Hey," Derek took a step towards Vincent. "Don't talk to her like that."

"Awe," Vincent mocked. "Are you being overprotective or are you finally going to just admit that you're a sick, twisted, _bastard_ who's in love with his _sister_."

"She's my step-sister dickwad," Derek replied. "And I don't care who knows that I'm in love with her. You can tell _everyone_ that you want."

"Derek," Casey breathed. That was possibly the furthest possible way to be told I love you from her dreams but somehow she felt a surge of happiness. It didn't really matter if he was wearing a tux with roses or his old leather jacket and about to punch someone out; it was still the most romantic thing she could think of. Besides that Derek read all of her books just to become her _Edward Cullen_ or whatever.

"Is that why you've been threatening me so much?" Vincent demanded. "So that I wouldn't lay a hand on your precious sister? Well after the way she kissed me today at school I hardly think she wants me to stay away. In fact, you probably forced her to break up with me."

"Forced Casey…" Derek scoffed. "Obviously you know _nothing_ about Casey McDonald if you think I can force her to do _anything_. She's more friggen stubborn than a mule."

Casey stumbled back a little until she was resting on the railing surrounding the front landing. They were fighting over her. Derek was fighting for her honour. As much as she loved this feeling she could help but think, of all the time I _don't_ have my laptop with me. Derek's chest was heaving with pent up angry, his fists clenched on either side of his body so tightly they glowed white in the dim light coming from the light above the door. Vincent was the opposite. He was almost swaggering, if you could do that standing still. A smug smirk on his face and his arms folded confidently across his chest.

"Oh please," Vincent replied. "You're sick enough to manipulate her. What did you do? Threaten to kill her family? Oh wait…then you'd have to kill your own family. Because _she's your sister_."

"Listen you bastard…"

"You know you can't marry her right?" Vincent continued pausing only briefly as Derek hesitated to smirk at him. "Oh yeah, you two," he waved his finger back and forth between Derek and Casey, "can't get married. It's illegal. Too bad."

"I don't care if I can't marry her," Derek fumed. "I don't know what kind of point your trying to make but its not going…"

"My point?" Vincent laughed coldly. "I thought my point was obvious. It's to make sure Casey see's what kind of scum you truly are. How despicable you truly are, you vile little cockroach. My god, just looking at you makes me want to puke."

"I'm scum?" It was Derek's turn to laugh harshly. "Oh I'm the scum here?"

"That's what I just said isn't it?" Vincent flashed Casey a _what-is-this-guy-stupid­?_ look. She felt as if she might throw up.

"You're the rotten bastard who got kicked out of his last school because you were accused with rape wasn't it?" Derek roared. "It was you who took at least 12 innocent girls out in that fancy, _shiny_ SUV to show them a good time wasn't it?"

"I was accused," Vincent replied coolly, "not charged."

"It doesn't matter to me," Derek replied. "The only reason you were let off was because there was no linking you to those girls."

"Yeah," Vincent replied briskly. "They were freaks. I would never sleep with any of them. They all were mad because I flirted a little and then never took them up on what they believed to be these amazing dates. Like I'd even _show_ my face at a midnight masquerade."

"So you go after the freaks then?" Casey asked, her voice sounding a lot smaller than she would have liked but it cut through the air like a knife, creating silence between the two boys. "Was I just another freak for you to _show a good time to_?"

"No," Vincent looked her over from head to toe. "Despite current appearances you're actually not too hard on the eyes. You were just really, really easy."

Derek's fist shot out and hit Vincent with a deafening _crack_ that resounded through the neighbourhood. Vincent stumbled back clutching his jaw, his large, once beautiful eyes wide. Casey looked into them as he stared at her in shock, trying to find one part of that oh-so-charming boy that had actually once made her heart beat fast. She couldn't find him anywhere.

"Leave," she said her voice still deadly quiet. "You don't know anything about me and you certainly know _nothing_ about Derek."

"Oh," Vincent wiped a little trickle of blood that was coming from the corner of his mouth away. "Oh ho ho that is rich. Now you're defending the pond scum. Am I imagining things here or is little Miss Perfect in love with her _brother_. Even though he's nothing more than a little slimy cockroach I could crush under my heel…"

Her body seemed to act before her mind could work and in almost-slow motion Casey watched her own feet stride towards Vincent and then watched her fist fly out and catch him between the eyes.

"He's my step-brother," she hissed. "And damn fucking straight I might just be in love with him. Now get the _hell_ off my property before I call the police and have them escort you away." Her knuckles felt like they were on fire. She'd never punched anyone before…it hurt like a bitch.

"This," Vincent's eyes darted back and forth between Casey and Derek. "This is assault."

"Then charge me," Casey replied. "Now get off my property."

"I'll leave," Vincent sneered. "But only because you're not worth it." He spun and left. The second his headlights were out of sigh Casey let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and collapsed into Derek. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Did you mean it?" he asked after a few moments of silence. Casey lifted her, now-tear stained, face off his chest.

"What?"

"Do you," Derek's eyes darted away. "You know…like what you said…do you actually….?"

"Derek," Casey reached up with her injured hand and turned his face towards hers. "I love you."

"I love you too," he whispered. Casey wanted to laugh and cry and kick things all at once. Was that how you were supposed to feel when you were in love? His lips met hers.

Yes, yes it was.

"Derek," she whispered when they pulled apart. "My hand hurts."


	13. Chapter 13

Derek took her hand gently in his and taped it gently with his thumb. Casey winced but he just smiled.

"We have matching wounds." His eyes were dark and sparkling. Casey could vaguely remember hearing that twinkling

Casey smiled back at him. "Some couples get matching jewellery or tattoos. We have matching wounds." Derek held up his own hand, already slightly swollen against hers. Even in the dim light Casey couldn't help but think how perfect their hands looked beside one another. Damaged or not, they were perfect.

"Well we're never going to be perfect," Derek replied.

"No, Casey gently placed her hand on his and looked deep into his eyes, trying to read exactly what was going through his mind. "We are absolutely perfect."

"Now you're getting mushy," Derek said, with a small smile as he scrunched up his nose. Casey leaned up and kissed him gently.

The rest of the night was silent. By some strange, wonderful miracle the entire family hadn't heard the shouting. Marti had discovered a spider in the basement as she was looking for Christmas presents and her screams had called the entire family down to the basement. They questioned Derek and Casey's matching wounds but a simple explanation of a strength contest had made them all roll their eyes.

The sat now, facing each other cross legged on Casey's bed, Derek, Casey, Edwin and Lizzie. Edwin and Lizzie had surprisingly not noticed how Casey and Derek couldn't get their eyes off each other. It was crazy. Casey was certain the whole world knew she just wanted to be lying in his arms as she stared at, some sort of goofy smile on her face.

"Why are you here?" Derek asked, for about the fourth time since the four teens had gathered. "Why aren't you in bed? Isn't it _way_ past your bedtime?"

"We have to talk to you guys," Lizzie muttered, her head ducked so that her hair curtained her face. Edwin's ears were red and he was picking at some dead skin around his nails. Casey bit her lip trying to keep herself from freaking. Her bed, her nice clean bed was getting destroyed by dead skin. As gently as she could she covered Edwin's hands with her own.

"Talk to us," she said kindly. "And if one more dead skin cell falls onto my duvet I will rip you apart."

"That can't be helped," Edwin replied. "I think we lose about 100 000 skin cells every thirty seconds. So you're shedding onto your duvet as well."

Casey looked at all the bare skin touching her bed and stood up. "We're going to continue this meeting on the floor," she announced. The other three groaned but she shot them such a look that they slowly slid off the bed. Except Derek, who still sat on her bed rubbing his hands up and down the duvet.

"Ooh the skin cells," he cried softly. "Dead skin everywhere." Casey shot him a look but instead of feeling anger like she should be her heart just kind of melted.

"Get off of my bed before I kill you," she said, knowing she didn't look half as scary as she wanted to. Mostly due to the fact, just looking at Derek made her heart soar and her smile to widen. He was just sitting on her bed, smiling at her and looking so beautiful and wonderful.

"Um, guys," Edwin called from the floor. "The meeting?"

"Bedtime," Derek repeated. "Leave. Now."

Out of the corner of her eye Casey saw Edwin and Lizzie exchange a look and she quickly sat down on the floor. "What's up you guys?"

Again Edwin and Lizzie exchanged a look. Lizzie nudged Edwin. "Tell her."

"You," Edwin replied looking down at the floor nervously.

"Would _one_ of you grow a pair and spit it out," Derek called, from the bed where he was _still_ sitting. "If you don't I'm afraid you're going to have to leave."

"Casey," Edwin's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them suspiciously, "why are you letting Derek be the boss in your room?"

"Why aren't you telling me?" Casey asked quickly, her heart hammering in her chest. She was torn between just telling them or actually just throwing them out of the room.

"You know what," Lizzie stood up. "I don't want to."

"Thank god." Edwin followed her out of the room. Casey rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for shutting the door," she called. Derek motioned towards the door and again she rolled her eyes. Pulling herself up she walked to the door just in time to see Edwin lower his mouth to Lizzie's in front of her door.

"No," she breathed. Casey was so shocked she couldn't pry her eyes away. Edwin and Lizzie? No, no, no. _no._

"You McDonald's," Derek came up behind Casey and wrapped his arms around her waist, "you just can't stay away from the Venturi's." He started to press kisses up her neck. "Any chance of some little, shunned brother we could hook Marti up with?"

"Derek," Casey turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head back in hopes of keeping his kisses going. "You are so smug. It's you Venturi's that can't stay away from us McDonald's."

"It's true," Derek mumbled into her neck. "It's so true."

"Mmm."

"I think," Derek whispered into her ear, "that we should close the door and forget about the preteens out there and focus on something much more important."

"Important?" Casey raised her eyebrow. "So we should do homework then?" Derek cupped her face in his hands and kissed her slowly and gently as he slowly pressed her back into the door, closing it as they went.

Soon Casey's mind was completely blank thanks to Derek's kisses. All she could think about was kissing him back. They're lips couldn't seem to move fast enough as they clung to each other as only two people, deeply, desperately and truly in love could do. Derek's hands trailed slowly, torturously, up and down her body, knowing exactly what to do. Casey could only cling to him, her hands buried into the soft hair on the back of his head, pressing ever so gently into his skin. The only sounds were the soft gasps and their rasping breathes as they allowed the sensations to wash over them

Derek's tongue prodded against hers in a never ending battle. Casey wrapped a leg around his own pulling him closer to her, ever closer. It wasn't close enough. It seemed like it never would be.

Footsteps outside the door were heard and the two pulled apart unhappily. They stared into each others eyes Casey's heart was racing and she wanted nothing more than to drag his face back down to meet hers.

"Casey?" Nora's voice called from outside the door. "Are you ok? Did you and Vincent get into a fight or something?"

Casey gasped and stared at Derek, her eyes wide. Had Nora heard everything? Was everything going to shit? So soon? It felt as if she had been flying and now Nora's presence threatened to pull her back down to earth. Boring, awful earth where nothing good happened.

"N-no." her voice was shaky. "He just wanted me to give him something back that he'd let me borrow. I told him that I'd give it back tomorrow." Casey's stomach was queasy, she hated lying. Still she stood, frozen against the door, her leg draped over Derek's hip and her lips still pulsing from the pressure of his own.

"Oh," Nora paused. "Is Derek in there? He seemed kind of upset about Vincent being there."

"Vincent is on football," Casey replied, her voice hoarse and broken. "Derek just didn't want him around because of that."

"Yeah," Derek called. Casey could visualize Nora freezing once she realized Casey and Derek were in the same room with the door closed. And yet, no one was dead yet.

"Derek and I are working on my story," Casey said quickly before Nora could ask. "There's this scene I just can't get right."

"o-oh."

"Yeah," Derek said, smirking down at Casey. "Little Miss Preppy Pants really sucks at writing love stories."

"Ok then," Nora paused again. "Are you sure everything is good?"

"Wonderful mom," Casey leaned her head back against the door. Derek took this opportunity to trail light kisses down her neck. "I'm just going to finish this scene and then go to bed."

"Don't stay up too late you two," Nora replied. "It's a school night."

"We won't Nora," Derek mumbled, his lips tickling Casey's neck. His voice muffled by her skin.

"Ok then." Nora still sounded vary but after a few moments her footsteps retreated down the hallway. Casey let out a deep breath.

"That was too close," she sighed slumping into Derek's arms. He stood her up and walked to her over to her bed where he sat her down.

"I agree." Casey watched transfixed as he carefully set up the lock Casey had put on her door one afternoon. She stood up.

"Maybe we should, you know, talk about this," she said. "Maybe make some rules about how we should behave when people are home. Keep ourselves safe."

Derek looked at her like she was an idiot, and idiot he loved, but an idiot none the less. "What?"

"I just think that we should have boundaries," Casey replied. "I don't think that either of us is ready to…"

Derek strode over to her and pressed a finger against her lips. "You talk too much."

"Derek," Casey batted his hand away, feeling slightly childish, though she could help but go a little weak at the knees when she saw the look in his eyes. "This is a serious issue that we should meet…"

"No talky Casey," Derek said holding her head in his hands. "Talky bad. Derek good. Less talky, more Derek." As he pressed his lips to hers once more and pushed her gently onto the bed Casey's mind went blank.

"Oh Derek is good," she muttered grinning up at him. "_Very_ good."


	14. Chapter 14

Casey stood outside in the freezing cold the next morning, shivering and glaring up the few faint rays of sunlight that were peeping over the horizon. She checked her cell phone, 7:02. Not only had Casey been early, Hannah was now late. Hannah had texted her asking her to meet her outside at seven.

"Hey Casey." Casey turned around to see Hannah standing behind her. A bright purple toque pulled down over her curls, a short kilt and knee high black lace up boots. She looked like a cross between a five year old, a porn star and a cougar and yet, somehow, much to Casey's dismay, she pulled it off beautifully. Jason stood beside her in a brown coat and the grey school pants that went along with the Catholic school's mostly disgusting uniform.

"Hannah," Casey's voice was weaker than she would have liked, "hey…"

Without warning Hannah darted towards her and wrapped her up into a bear hug. "I'm so happy for you," she whispered. Casey barely heard her. Even in her platform boots, Hannah barely stood at 5'4" contrasting magnificently to Casey's 5'8".

"Happy?" Casey pulled away. "What are you talking about?"

Hannah's smile was contagious. "You and Derek!" she cried. "You two _finally_ admitted everything to each other."

"Did you hear the fight?" Casey had forgotten about the neighbours she'd been so wrapped up in thinking about Derek. Now she realized the whole _world_ knew about her and Derek, it was only a matter of time before George and her mom found out. It felt like an iceberg was growing in the pit of her stomach and her breath came in short gasps

"The whole _world_ heard the screams," Hannah said. "No one heard the _words_."

"Oh thank god." The words came out in a rush and Casey felt slightly drained.

"Derek texted me the good news at midnight last night," Hannah said, a knowing twinkle in her eye. "I just wanted to let you know that you made the right choice by trying to make things work with him."

"Wait," Casey's head was still spinning from the first piece of news Hannah had given her, "why would Derek text you that?"

"Because we've known the plan all along!" Hannah said leaning back and pulling Jason up so stand beside her. "Derek asked me and Jason to pretend to date so that you'd see that total opposites could be together."

"But I _barely_ saw you two," Casey protested.

Hannah shrugged and glanced, almost shyly up at Jason. "The plan worked faster than expected."

"So," Casey pointed to the two of them, "you two were just pretending?" That made so much more sense. There was no way that someone like Hannah would date someone as _total_ opposite. She knew that sounded hypocritical especially since Derek and her were like night and date with it just seemed so, _weird_. Besides they hated each other.

"We _were_ just pretending," Hannah replied. "Jason and I used to be the type of friends who just kinda fought with each other all the time. Derek approached me and asked me to find my most irritating, not totally unattractive friend and ask him a favour."

"And I said yes," Jason added.

"Much to my surprise," Hannah said happily. "I thought for sure he'd say no way and maybe kick me."

"So now," Casey was still unbelievable confused, "you two are just going to go back to hating each other."

"Well," Hannah looked shyly up at Jason again and slipped her gloved hand into Jason's, whose ears went red, "that's the thing I wanted to tell you about."

"Oh," Casey breathed. Hannah was in love with Jason. The two grinned shyly up at each other, their cheeks burning red and their hands gripped together.

"She may be the most _irritating_, emotionally disturbing, horrible person I've ever met," Jason said. "But I think I love her." Casey's heart melted, as the tall boy's face broke into a goofy, love sick smile.

"And I might hate him more than anything else in the world but I think I love him too," Hannah said. "And that's what I wanted to tell you. That Jason and I, who hated each other even as much as you and Derek, We've found love and I just want you to know, you shouldn't regret anything."

Casey smiled warmly at the two. "I don't," she said, "I don't and I know I won't."

"Good." A large, yellow school bus pulled up alongside the three and Jason and Hannah moved to get on. "Good bye Casey."

Casey waved at them, still a little dazed and watched the bus until it turned around a corner and disappeared from her sight. She raced home, silently slipped inside and up the stairs until she reached Derek's room. Her heart racing and her cheeks hurting a little from smiling too much, she opened the door and slipped inside.

He was asleep, looking like a fallen angel, in black cotton boxers and nothing else. She leaned down, a small giggle escaping her lips and pressed her freezing cold hand against his searing hot skin.

"Jesus!" Derek shot up, his hand gripping her wrist. Casey tried desperately not to laugh at the bewildered look on his face but failed and succumbed to soft, hysterical giggles.

"Your face," she panted between giggles, "your face was so funny."

"Funny eh," Derek's hand moved slowly up her arm until he reach her elbow. "I'll show you funny." With a firm yank Casey found herself toppling onto the bed, her face pressed into his warm, soft chest.

She lay there for a moment feeling his arms wrap themselves around her waist and listening to his heartbeat. "I'm not really sure what's funny about this," she remarked after a few minutes of silence. "Maybe you're losing your touch."

Derek gently pulled her up into a kiss. "Who cares?"

()()()()()()

The car ride seemed longer than it had ever been. Casey sat tensed in the passenger seat. Once she'd stopped being in love for just a second everything that was waiting for her at school suddenly flashed back to her.

Vincent knew.

Would he tell everyone? Casey knew that they would be quicker to believe him than her and Derek. Looking back, they had kind of acted like a married couple. A very, very cute married couple but none the less it only provided Vincent with ammo.

"We'll be ok," Derek whispered as they pulled into the parking lot. "I know this whole fucking thing seems like a teen movie but maybe there's some truth behind those screenplays."

"What do you mean?" Casey asked. The pressure on her chest was so much she almost couldn't breathe. It was like she was swimming with sharks and all that she had to protect her was the metal walls of the car. Once she got out of the car it would be like throwing herself in with the beasts. Except she'd also be wearing a raw steak suit.

"I mean everyone rolls their eyes at the two teenagers promising to love each other and how they plan to spend the rest of their lives together. Maybe they weren't so wrong."

Casey raised her eyebrows at him, her heart racing. Was he…proposing?"

"I'm not saying we're going to get to that point," Derek continued as if Casey hadn't moved, "but I am saying we have to accept that people aren't always going to understand and we just have to…go with it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Casey giggled a little. "But I love you."

Derek scrunched up his face at her. "That may have been the most heartfelt speech ever given and you missed it. I hope you're happy."

"Say it again," Casey replied.

"I don't want to."

"Then I'll just tell you what I got from it," Casey said moving as close to Derek as she could before the parking brake was digging uncomfortably into her thigh. "I got that you love me and you want to be with me. I got that you don't care what anyone else thinks about us."

"That's about it," Derek said smiling. "I love you. I don't care what Vincent's been saying and I definitely don't care what these losers think. I just want to take it one day at a time. With you."

Casey nearly melted. "Let's go then," she said. "Let's go face the losers."

It was strange; she could swear that as she slid out of the car she could _feel_ herself glowing. She felt radiant. Maybe it was because of her new exfoliating body wash and her new found self confidence.

Or maybe it was the way Derek was staring at her like she was some sort of goddess.

He wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a half hug as he brushed his lips over her forehead.

"You want to know what else I got from your little speech?" Casey asked as they walked proudly into the school as if they were celebrities.

"What?"

"I got that you have watched _way_ too many teen movies for any teen aged boy."


	15. Chapter 15

Vincent's face was purple. An ugly dark bruise spread across his jaw and he had two black eyes from Derek's punch. Casey felt a little sick as he glowered at her from across the cafeteria. Derek's body was pressed right up against her, making her feel way too hot. Emily and her boyfriend had easily accepted Casey and Derek and promised that in time so would the rest of the school.

"I can't believe that gorgeous hunk of man meat is leaving," Emily sighed, staring off in Vincent's direction. Casey felt sick.

"What?"

"Vincent, he's decided that public school sucks. He's going to try out that Catholic high school a little ways away," Emily replied.

"Good riddance," Derek muttered, reaching under the table to squeeze Casey's hand. "He's the last thing this school needs."

"I wonder what happened to his face," Emily said sadly. "It was so beautiful."

Derek and Casey shrugged simultaneously. Vincent hadn't tried to get them charged for anything and he was leaving the school, they weren't about to start any shit by telling Emily everything. As far as Emily knew Derek had just offered to help out with Casey's story and things had progressed from there.

Speaking of which, Casey looked at the folder beside her. The entire story was finished; she was going to hand it on the next Monday. The final chapter seemed too happy and she was giving Derek a week to give her something to add to the story. It was unfair but honestly at this point she felt there was nothing he could do that would make her angry.

"What are you smirking about?" Derek whispered in her ear, his lips brushing her skin and making her shiver. She pushed him away, still smiling.

"That's none of your business," she replied bumping her shoulder with his gently. His fingers tickled their way up the sensitive skin of her arm and then wrapped itself around her waist pulled her even closer to him.

"Aren't girls all about talking about feelings and disgusting stuff like that?" he asked. "Shouldn't you want to pour your little heart out to me?"

Casey wanted to kiss him so much at that moment it actually hurt. She knew he hated PDA's and even more so she didn't want to anger anyone else. But his lips looked so perfect at that moment and so soft that…

Her mind went blank as Derek kissed her gently and so sweetly she felt herself melt in his arms. Distantly she heard Emily say something to her boyfriend about kissing her like that but she didn't quite care enough to listen.

"Are you feeling sick Casey?" Derek asked when they finally broke apart. Casey stared at him for a moment.

"What?"

"I think you're looking a little flushed and we should sign out sick."

Casey heart skipped a beat. She knew Derek did this all the time but honestly she didn't quite feel like doing it. Or at least she hadn't until Derek kissed her again.

"Ok," she rasped. "Let's go."

()()()()()()()()

"You know," Derek said as he swung the front door open to the silent house, "you lost the bet."

"What?" Casey hung up her scarf, trying to think of what the hell he was trying to say. She was still talking in the plugged up nose voice that she had used to convince the secretary to let her out. It was only afterwards that Derek had mentioned that she was eighteen and didn't need to pretend.

"You wrote that story didn't you?" he asked coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Even though you bet that you wouldn't."

Casey spun around. "That was unfair," she replied. "You pretty much seduced me into agreeing to do it."

Derek feigned innocence. "I did no such thing!" he replied defensively. Then he grinned. "At least I didn't _try_ to. Are you really _that_ attracted to me that I can ask you do anything I want?"

"No," Casey snapped, feeling flustered and hot.

"Well that's too bad because since you lost the bet you _have_ to do what I want." Derek's grin looked almost painful it was so big. Casey huffed trying to think of a snappy comeback and found she couldn't.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked finally, almost like a pouting five year old.

Derek stroked an invisible beard. "I haven't decided yet," he replied pulling her in for a kiss, "but it will be good." Casey rolled her eyes but tilted her head up for the kiss.

()()()()()()()

Casey sat in front of her computer staring out the window at the snow that was gently falling and sighed. It was falling in huge chunks that danced gently. A stone clinked against the cold glass and Casey was jolted from her daze. Another and another hit the panes until Casey stood up and looked out the window. Derek was standing under the window with a smile and another rose.

Casey held up a finger before rushing down the stairs. She grabbed her coat, gloves and shoved her feet into her boots. Her heart racing she stumbled outside. Derek and her had spent the afternoon together but once the family had started to arrive home they'd gone their separate ways.

As Casey's tore around the house like a woman possessed she realized she had missed him. Despite the fact they'd spent most of their afternoon together, of course they'd argued stupidly about things that didn't mean anything but he'd been there and that was all she wanted. And suddenly he was there, wrapped his arms around her and laughing as she clung onto him.

"Loser," he muttered. She punched him in the shoulder with her good hand. Silently after that he handed her the rose, this one in perfect condition and Casey's heart felt like it had stopped.

"I want this one to be our rose," he said, "not the one torn apart from our fighting." Casey gently cradled the rose like it could shatter at any second. She could feel a lump starting in her throat and she hurriedly blinked away tears.

"Derek," she whispered, her voice breaking. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his.

"I love you," he said and then waited for Casey to stop crying. She hugged him closely as she sniffled. Finally she lifted her tear streaked face to him and he smiled at her.

"I love you too," she said.

"Good," he said, his smile growing, "then you'll be willing to do your part of the bet."Casey narrowed her eyes at him but remained silent as he pulled her along after him towards the street. They kept walking, the snow falling around them and their gloved hands clasped together until they reached the end of the road, a roundabout. None of the houses here were occupied and the circular end of the road was surrounded by street lights making it seem like a dance floor. Fairy lights were strung in the trees and against on of the trees Hannah and Jason were kissing gently.

"I told you I was a good match maker," Derek said. Casey rolled her eyes.

"Hannah told me that she and Jason had been friends before you'd asked for their help and that Hannah had chosen Jason herself."

Derek scoffed. "Please. I introduced them and I mentioned that Hannah should ask Jason to help her out. Little did she know that he had a crush on her."

"Of course he did," Casey replied, "Hannah is perfect."

"Hannah doesn't know that she's beautiful," Derek replied. "She hangs out with the Star Wars nerds and is in the local bowling league. She makes the world fall in love with her and doesn't even know she's done it."

"Oh."

Hannah finally had noticed them and ran over, her cheeks pink and her eyes bright against her face. "Take a snog break?" she asked in one of the worst British accents Casey had ever heard.

"You know it Carlson," Derek said. Hannah laughed and raced over to a parked car and turned on the stereo.

"Jason has a pimped out car," Hannah called from the car. Before Casey could question anything soft music floated from the car.

"Did you set up something completely and totally adorable?" she demanded turning to Derek. Instead of answering he offered her his hand.

"Dance with me?"

Casey felt like she was floating as they swirled around their makeshift ballroom and Derek would kiss her now and then, so sweetly she felt her heart would break before he would rush her into a spin.

"Where did you learn to dance," she demanded finally.

"Hannah taught me," he replied sheepishly. "When you thought we were dating for those few weeks we were actually working on this plan."

"You're kidding?" Casey was speechless.

Derek just shook his head. "I knew I had to do something that would shake you up a little. Hannah told me all the books I had to read and what flowers were right and how to dance. It turns out Little Miss Spock knows more about romance than I thought."

Casey ignored the Little Miss Spock comment; it would just make sense that Hannah was a Star Trek fan too.

"I love you," she said finally once her voice had come back. There was nothing else she could think of to say. Somehow the way Derek's face lit up as the words left her mouth made everything even better.

()()()()()()

Casey sat in front of her computer again, her lips swollen and a smile perminentally on her face.

She looked at her story and realized that Derek wasn't going to do anything wrong because he was perfect. She added the final words.

_Rose smiled at Oliver, she could say the end but in reality, it was really just the beginning._

It was the perfect love story.


End file.
